Exam marks not confidential, can be shared under RTI: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court ruled that marks in public examinations are not confidential information. It said candidates can seek fellow candidates' marks through RTI without consent but cannot ask for others' answer sheets.

In a significant ruling aimed at strengthening transparency in recruitment and public examinations, the Allahabad High Court has held that marks obtained by candidates in public exams are not confidential information and can be disclosed under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

As per LiveLaw, the court clarified that when a candidate who has appeared in a public examination seeks the marks of fellow candidates through an RTI application, the information can be provided without requiring the consent of the third party whose marks are being requested.

The ruling highlights the public nature of recruitment examinations and the need for transparency in evaluation.

The decision was delivered by a bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Swarupama Chaturvedi while dealing with a writ petition related to disclosure of marks in a public recruitment examination.

The bench observed that marks obtained in a public examination cannot be treated as private or confidential information.

The court said, “Marks obtained by a candidate, if information regarding that is sought by another candidate who has also participated in examination, is not such a confidential private information which may require even consent of that third party under Section 8.”