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Section 8(1)(e) — Fiduciary Relationship — PIO Framework

Section 8(1)(e) — Fiduciary Relationship — PIO Framework — Part of the PIO / FAA Knowledge Base.

Section 8(1)(e) — Fiduciary Relationship — PIO Framework

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Part of the PIO / FAA Knowledge Base.

In one line. A fiduciary relationship requires choice + trust + benefit of the provider — lawyer/client, doctor/patient, banker/customer, trustee/beneficiary. Information submitted to a public authority under a statutory requirement, employee service records held by the employer, and exam-answer-scripts are not fiduciary.

Statutory text

Information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure.

What it means in practice

A fiduciary relationship requires choice + trust + benefit of the provider — lawyer/client, doctor/patient, banker/customer, trustee/beneficiary. Information submitted to a public authority under a statutory requirement, employee service records held by the employer, and exam-answer-scripts are not fiduciary.

Case law

  • CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay, (2011) 8 SCC 497 — evaluated answer scripts are not fiduciary; scores are disclosable.
  • RBI v. Jayantilal Mistry, (2016) 5 SCC 136 — the regulator-regulated relationship is not fiduciary.
  • ICAI v. Shaunak Satya, (2011) 8 SCC 781 — examiner identity and model answers are fiduciary.

PIO takeaway

Record why the specific record qualifies as fiduciary. Statutory compliance, employment, or regulation alone do not meet the test.

Quick Answer: §8(1)(e) Fiduciary

  • Trigger — information held in a fiduciary relationship is exempt.
  • Test — choice, trust, and benefit of the provider (not the holder).
  • NOT fiduciary — examiner/examinee, regulator/regulated, statutory submissions, employee service records.
  • IS fiduciary — lawyer/client, doctor/patient, trustee/beneficiary, examiner's working notes for moderation (Shaunak Satya).
  • Override — §8(2) public interest.

When Is §8(1)(e) Valid?

Request Fiduciary? Outcome
Examination answer-scripts and own marks No Disclose — Aditya Bandopadhyay (SC 2011)
Examiner's moderation working notes Yes Protected — Shaunak Satya (SC 2011)
RBI regulatory inspection reports of banks No Disclose — Jayantilal Mistry (SC 2015)
Individual bank customer account details Yes Protected — fiduciary bank-customer (qualified by HDFC v. CIC 2020)
Employee service records held by employer No Not fiduciary — Deshpande and progeny
Insurance claim file (insurer is public authority) Yes Fiduciary insurer-insured
Cabinet confidentiality / collegium documents No §8(1)(i), not §8(1)(e)
Information submitted under a statute by compulsion No Not fiduciary — absence of “choice”

PIO Decision Framework — §8(1)(e)

  1. Is the provider's submission voluntary or compelled by law? Compelled = not fiduciary.
  2. Was the information given for the provider's own benefit? If not, not fiduciary.
  3. Was there choice of confidant? Statutory monopoly provider means no choice.
  4. Does the holder owe a higher duty of care? Lawyer / doctor / trustee — yes.
  5. Is there §8(2) public interest override? Record reasoning either way.

Landmark case law

  • Central Board of Secondary Education v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (SC 2011) — examiner-examinee is NOT fiduciary; candidates can inspect own answer-scripts.
  • Institute of Chartered Accountants v. Shaunak Satya (SC 2011) — examiner's moderation notes ARE fiduciary and exempt.
  • Reserve Bank of India v. Jayantilal Mistry (SC 2015) — regulator-regulated is NOT fiduciary; RBI inspection reports of banks are disclosable.
  • HDFC Bank v. CIC (SC 2020) — qualified Jayantilal Mistry on individual customer account data.
  • Girish Ramchandra Deshpande v. CIC (SC 2013) — service records not strictly fiduciary; §8(1)(j) applies.

FAQs

Q1. Are an employee's own service records fiduciary?

No. Service records are held by the employer in an employer-employee relationship, not in fiduciary capacity. An employee can access their own record directly under §2(f).

Q2. Are bank inspection reports fiduciary?

No. The Supreme Court in Jayantilal Mistry held that the RBI and a commercial bank are in a regulator-regulated relationship, which is not fiduciary.

Q3. What about an examiner's scoring?

The examiner-examinee relationship is not fiduciary (Aditya Bandopadhyay). But internal moderation working notes are fiduciary (Shaunak Satya).

Q4. Does public interest override §8(1)(e)?

Yes. §8(2) permits disclosure if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected relationship. The PIO must record this balancing in writing.

Q5. Is the lawyer-client privilege fiduciary under §8(1)(e)?

Yes. But legal advice rendered by in-house government counsel in their official capacity, on matters of public policy, can lose privilege post-decision. Case-by-case.

What Should You Do Next?

Deep dive

Sources

  • Right to Information Act, 2005 — §8-1-e
  • Cases cited above (Supreme Court of India and High Courts)
  • Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 — §44(3)

Last reviewed: 24 April 2026.

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