If Public Information Officers
(PIOs) reject Right to Information (RTI) applications on the ground that the
applicant have asked questions, it will be deemed contrary to the RTI Act,
according to the latest ruling from Ravindra Jadhav, State Information Commissioner
(SIC), Pune bench.
Jadhav, while hearing a second
appeal application, ruled that instead of rejecting applications, the PIOs in
such cases should try to provide information or call the applicant for file
inspection.
Jadhav made the observation while
hearing a second appeal filed by Y A Gosavi, an RTI applicant from Pune. Gosavi
had filed an application with the Naib Teshildar Haveli’s office which went
unanswered, following which he had filed a first appeal with the Teshildar
Haveli. During the first appeal hearing, the Haveli teshildar, who is also the
first appellate authority (FAA), rejected the application on the ground that
the application had questions.
PIOs rejecting applications
containing questions is a common complaint of RTI applicants. Around 30 per
cent of applications are rejected on this ground.
Following the rejection, Gosavi
appealed before the SIC, who consequently held a hearing on the matter. During
the course of hearing, the PIO stated that due to work-load, paucity of staff
and extra work due to the ongoing local body elections, he was not able to
provide information on time.
In his order, Jadhav said, “The PIO should have
made efforts to provide the information asked for instead of rejecting the
applications on ground that the applicant had asked questions. The applicant
might have been called for file inspection under the Act,” the order said.
Rejecting the arguments put by the PIO and FAA,
Jadhav found the PIO guilty of not providing information under the RTI Act and
slapped a fine of Rs 3,000 on him for dereliction of duty.
RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar said the
PIO was bound by law to provide information asked under RTI. However he
expressed his reservations about the option of file inspection being suggested
by Jadhav.
“Many a time, PIOs opt for this
option instead of providing information asked for. PIOs should be asked to give
the information asked for and not take this option as an easy way out,” he
said.
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/right-to-information-no-problem-with-applicants-asking-questions-rules-sic/
MoS for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman, MoS in the Ministry of Food
Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, and MoS in the Health
Ministry Anupriya Patel will be also meeting soldiers.
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The government must address the grievances of the armed forces. They have never let the country down whether it was war, internal disturbances or natural calamities. Jagdish Mada.n