Central Information Commission
Appeal No.CIC/WB/C/2007/00603, 676-SM dated 08.09.2007
Right to Information Act-2005-Under Section (19)
Dated 29.01.2009
Complainant: Shri Kalyan Mal Goyal
Respondent: Cantonment Board, Nasirabad, Ministry of Defence
The Complainant is not present inspite of notice.
On behalf of the Respondents the following are present:-
(1) Sh. D. S. Khatri, CEO
(2) Sh. V. L. Tanwar, CPIO
The brief facts of the case are as under.
2. The Complainant had requested the CPIO in his letter of 26 March 2007
for information regarding the permission granted by the Cantonment Board for
construction of a house on survey number 834 and house number 370. He did
not receive any reply from the CPIO. It is not clear if he had filed an appeal before
the first Appellate Authority. He has approached the Commission and has sought
our intervention to ensure that the CPIO concerned provides him with the
information.
3. Two complaints have been registered in the Commission based on the
same subject. We have clubbed both the complaints together for hearing. The
Complainant is not present in spite of notice. The Respondent submitted that the
application of the Complainant dated 26 March 2007 was not accompanied with
the requisite fee and, therefore, it was not a valid application for information and,
therefore, the CPIO did not take any action on his application. While technically
the CPIO is right in not taking action on an application unaccompanied with the
fee, it is certainly not in accordance with the spirit of the Right to Information
Act. It was the responsibility of the CPIO to inform the Complainant that he
should deposit the requisite fee.
4. The Respondent informed that, in response to another request from the
same Complainant dated 10 Nov 2008 and after the Complainant deposited the
requisite fee, the CPIO had, in his letter dated 26 December 2008, supplied,
among many other details, the information pertaining to this very request. Even
though, belatedly, the CPIO has already provided the requisite information to the
Complainant, we once again direct the CPIO to provide the information in greater
and specific detail within ten working days from the receipt of this order, free of
cost.
5. With the above direction, both the complaints are hereby disposed off.
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.
Sd/-
(Vijay Bhalla)
Assistant Registrar