Research paper is not personal information: CIC

NEW DELHI: The thesis submitted by a research student is not a personal or third party information and cannot be withheld by an Institution under the Right to Information Act, the Central Information Commission has said.

Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said,"It is not third party information. Moreover, there is a public interest in knowing the originality of the thesis, especially when a serious allegation of appropriating the research work is made by the co-researcher, it is the duty of the academic institution to clear the allegation after due verification."

The matter related to an RTI applicant who had demanded from Rajasthan-based Arid Forest Research Institute the copy of pre-thesis submission seminar details of a researcher, copy of her thesis, all correspondence related to research work, rules and regulation of research work and related records.

The applicant alleged that the researcher had stolen theme of her research paper, hence she requires all these details to establish her claims.

Acharyulu said the thesis submitted to a University is not private or personal information of the candidate who submitted it, but the property of the University, which has to discuss and decide whether it deserves the award of Ph D or not.

"One of the purposes of seminar of pre-submission and viva voce of Ph.D candidate is to ascertain whether research work of candidate is original and the work done by the candidate only," he said while ordering the disclosure of documents.

The Information Commissioner also directed the Institute to treat the RTI application as a complaint against the researcher, whose documents have been demanded by the applicant and carry out an inquiry into the allegations.

He said a report should be submitted before the Commission after the inquiry.