Chennai: The Madras High Court has quashed the order of the Tasmac Public Information Officer who refused to provide details related to the purchase of liquor.
In 2017, a lawyer from Coimbatore, Loganathan, had filed a case in the Madras High Court against Tasmac’s refusal to provide information under the Right to Information Act about which liquor manufacturers it procures, how much liquor and at what price.
The case came up for hearing before Justice SM Subramaniam. At that time, it was argued on the part of the petitioner, “It was wrong to refuse to provide these details on the grounds that it was a trade secret. It was wrong to reject the application without considering the provisions of the Right to Information Act. The procurement of liquor for Tasmac is not a trade secret. Therefore, the order refusing to provide information should be quashed.”
At that time, the government side argued, “These details cannot be provided as the transactions between the companies regarding the purchase of liquor are trade secrets. Moreover, if this information is disclosed, the trade will be affected.” Further, based on the order issued by the court in this case, the government had submitted the details of purchase and price of liquor in a sealed envelope as a report.
Examining the submissions and submissions of both the parties, the judge said, “Details of liquor being procured from which company and at what price cannot be treated as a trade secret. Tasmac, a government agency, should be transparent.
The price of liquor is not a trade secret. The judge ordered that these details should be disclosed because it is related to public interest and a large amount has been received as profit and the amount is used for government welfare schemes.