Do photos taken during government seminars and workshops fall under the category of public documents?
According to Section 2 (i) of the RTI Act 2005, the term “record” includes any document, manuscript and file; any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of a document; any reproduction of image or images embodied in such microfilm (whether enlarged or not); and any other material produced by a computer or any other device. Thus photos fall under the category of documents that can be disclosed if there is a request for such disclosure. The Honourable Principal Secretary, Sri S. K. Panda added here that if the photos affect the law and order situation or have the potential of say inciting communal riots then they would fall under the category of exempted information. Therefore, even in the case of photos, wherever necessary, provisions of Section 8 will need to be taken into account, unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosing that photo. MISUSE OF INFORMATION: Q: How can the government ensure that information disclosed under the RTI Act 2005 will not be misused? A: As
