Show cause notices to 2 Tehsildars, X-En before initiating penal action

Taking
serious note of violation of
provisions of the Right to
Information Act, 2005, the
Central Information
Commission (CIC) has issued
show cause notices to two
Tehsildars and one Executive
Engineer before initiating
penal action against them.
Moreover, it has passed strictures against Joint Director
(Budget) in the Finance
Department of Government of
Jammu and Kashmir Union
Territory for deciding the
First Appeal filed against his
reply in contravention of principles of natural justice.
As per the case titled Nitin Sharma Verus PIO RTI Cell,
office of Deputy Commissioner
Jammu, the applicant filed an
application on March 28, 2022
seeking information about
action taken on the order issued
by the Collector (ADM) Jammu
regarding land in Marh area of
Jammu district.
Having not received any
response from the CPIO, the
complainant approached the
Central Information
Commission with the complaint.
Upon perusal of the facts on
record as well as on the basis of the proceedings during the hearing, Chief Information
Commissioner Y K Sinha
observed, “although a reply has
been provided by the respondent, yet the same bears considerable delay which also raises
doubt that the denial of information is with a mala fide intent”,
adding “further, the absence of
any representative specifically
from the office of the Deputy
Commissioner, Jammu has led
to the proceedings getting vitiated, since the instant RTI

Application has been filed in
their office and in the absence of
any representative from their
office, it cannot be ascertained
whether the RTI Application
was ever transferred to the concerned custodian of information”.
Accordingly, the Commission
has issued show cause notice to
the then CPIO Mohit Gupta,
Tehsildar (Recovery/Jammu),
who is now posted as Tehsildar
HQA DC Office, Samba through
the present CPIO Sunaina
Bharti, Tehsildar
(Recovery/Jammu) under
Section 20 of the RTI Act, seeking
explanation as to why maximum
penalty to the tune of Rs 25,000
should not be imposed upon him
for causing deliberate obstruction
in the dissemination of information thereby violating provisions
of the RTI Act, 2005.
“Written submissions of the
then CPIO should reach the
Commission by 31.08.2023, failing
which ex-parte action may be initiated as per the Act”, the Chief
Information Commissioner has
made it clear in the order.
Similarly, explanation has
been sought from Kaisar Ahmad
Zargar, Tehsildar Central
Srinagar for not providing information to the applicant within
stipulated timeframe. “There has
been substantial delay in furnishing the information which is in
contravention to the provisions of
the RTI Act, 2005”, the Chief
Information Commissioner
observed.
As per case titled Suresh
Chargotra Versus PIO Executive
Engineer, Public Health
Engineering Division, Akhnoor, an
application was filed under RTI Act
on December 17, 2020 seeking
information about establishment of
tube-well and over-head water tank
in village Assurwan.
During the course of hearing,
Executive Engineer, Jal Shakti and
PHE Division Akhnoor submitted
that his office has not received the
copy of the First Appeal otherwise
the reply to the RTI application
would have been given at that stage
itself.
Upon perusal of the facts on
record as well as on the basis of the
proceedings during the hearing, the
Commission observed, “the then

PIO has not provided the relevant
information to the appellant within
the stipulated time-frame as mandated in the RTI Act”.
Admonishing the then PIO
for not providing the relevant
information to the appellant, the
CIC has issued show cause notice
to then PIO through the present
PIO under Section 20 of the RTI
Act, seeking explanation as to
why maximum penalty to the
tune of Rs 25,000 should not be
imposed upon him for causing
deliberate obstruction in the dissemination of information thereby violating provisions of the RTI
Act, 2005.
“Rajinder Kumar Gupta,
Executive Engineer & PIO shall
serve a copy of this decision to the
then PIO who shall explain in writing as to why action should not be
initiated against him under Section
20(1) and 20(2) of the RTI Act”, the
Commission said, adding “in case
no reply is furnished within the stipulated timeframe ex-parte action
will be initiated as per the Act”.
Meanwhile, Chief Information
Commissioner has passed strictures
against Joint Director (Budget) in
the Finance Department for violating the principles of natural justice
and deciding the First Appeal filed
against his reply given as PIO.
The applicant had sought information vis-à-vis compensation to
the shopkeepers affected by floods
in 2014.
“The issues raised by the appellant are clearly in the larger public
interest as such Commission directs
Shafaat Yehya, PIO and Joint
Director (Budget) to provide a
detailed reply with the updated status in the matter to the appellant by
15.08.2023 under intimation to the
Commission”, the Chief
Information Commissioner said.
The Commission also noted
that the PIO decided the First
Appeal filed against his reply in
contravention to the principle
“Nemo in propria causa judex”
i.e., no one shall be a judge in his
own cause.
Accordingly, the Commission
has cautioned Shafaat Yehya, PIO
and Joint Director (Budget) to
ensure that such a breach of principles of natural justice does not recur
in future failing which appropriate
action as per the RTI Act, 2005 may
be initiated against him.