Central Information Commission
Appeal No.CIC/WB/A/2008/000500-SM dated 24.08.2007
Right to Information Act-2005-Under Section (19)
Dated 19.03.2009
Appellant : Shri Satbir Singh
Respondent : Cantonment Board, Meerut, Ministry of Defence
The Appellant along with Shri Narendra and Vineet Kumar, is present.
On behalf of the Respondent, the following are present:-
(i) Shri Harish Chopra, ACPIO
(ii) Shri Sudhir Kumar, Asstt.
The brief facts of the case are as under.
2. The Appellant had requested the CPIO, in its application dated 24 August 2007, for a
number of information in respect of encroachment on the Cantonment land. The CPIO neither
provided the information nor gave any reply to the Appellant within the stipulated period.
Thereafter, the Appellant approached the first Appellate Authority on 17 October 2007. The first
Appellate Authority decided the appeal and directed the CPIO to supply the information sought
within one month from the day of the passing of his order. Since the CPIO did not provide any
information even after this, the Appellant has approached the Commission in second appeal.
3. During the hearing, both the sides were present and made their submissions. We note
with concern that the CPIO did not care to reply nor provide any information to the Appellant
within the stipulated period. He also did not carry out the order of the Appellate Authority which
was quite clear. The CPIO, present during the hearing, submitted that he had been trying to
collect the information from various sections of the Cantonment Board to which the information
pertained but had not been able to get all the information. His explanation is totally unacceptable.
The information was sought nearly a year and a half back and it is unthinkable that the Public
Authority could not collect the information over such a long period of time when the law makes it
clear that the information should be provided within 30 days from the date of the application. The
CPIO has no credible explanation for the delay and has not shown us any proof that he had
brought the fact of not getting the required information from the relevant sections of the
Cantonment Board to the notice of his superior authorities and of seeking their support and help
in the matter. This is a clear case of willful denial of information by taking the plea that information
was being collected from various sections of the Cantonment Board. Therefore, before we decide
to impose a penalty on the CPIO for his act of not providing the information within the stipulated
period, we would like him to explain within five working days from the receipt of this order as to
why the maximum penalty under Section 20(1) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act should not be
imposed on him. If we do not receive his explanation in time, we will proceed to decide on the
penalty ex-parte. We also direct him to provide the information sought within 10 working days
from the receipt of this order and report compliance to the Commission without fail.
4. It appears to us that, in the Cantonment Board, there is scant regard for the Right to
Information (RTI) Act. The fact that even the superior authorities in the Board did not take any
step to improve the situation and to ensure supply of information shows that the authorities are
callous to their lawful duty to provide information to the citizens. Even the first Appellate Authority,
after passing the order and directing the CPIO to supply the information within 30 days, simply
forgot about it and did not ensure that his order was carried out. We would like to strongly advise
the first Appellate Authority to put the information delivery mechanism in the Cantonment Board in
order and ensure that all such requests for information are processed and the information
delivered within the stipulated period.
5. With the above directions, we dispose off the appeal.
6. Copies of this order be given free of cost to the parties.
Sd/-
(Satyananda Mishra)
Information Commissioner
Authenticated true copy. Additional copies of orders shall be supplied against application and
payment of the charges prescribed under the Act to the CPIO of this Commission.
(Vijay Bhalla)
Assistant Registrar