Central Information Commission
Complaint No.CIC/WB/C/2008/00804-SM dated 21.06.2008
Right to Information Act-2005-Under Section (18)
Dated: 6 August 2009
Name of the Complainant : Shri Lokender S. Painoli,
Building No. D-15, Flat No. 7,
Salunkhe Vihar, Pune - 411 042.
Name of the Public Authority : CPIO, Office of the Artificial Limb Centre,
Ministry of Defence,
Pune - 40.
The Complainant was present in person.
The Respondent was not present in spite of notice.
2. In this case, the Complainant had, in his application dated July 21,
2008, requested the CPIO for the copies of a number of documents such as
the enquiry proceedings concerning the breakage of a carrom board,
statement of witnesses, findings of the enquiry officer and the action taken
on the enquiry. The CPIO replied on July 26, 2008 and denied the
information claiming that these were classified documents and could not be
provided to him under section 8 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. This
complaint has been filed before the CIC against the denial of information by
the CPIO.
3. The hearing in this case was conducted through videoconferencing.
The Complainant was present in the Pune studio of the NIC while the
Respondent was not present there in spite of notice. We find the CPIO had
denied the information without any plausible ground; claiming these
documents to be classified is irrelevant as there is nothing in the Right to
Information (RTI) Act which exempts classified documents from disclosure
merely on the ground that those are classified. The information sought is
regarding some enquiry which the competent authority had instituted and
we do not see why the records and documents concerned with the said
enquiry cannot be provided to the Complainant.
CIC/WB/C/2008/00804-SM
4. In view of the above, we direct the CPIO to provide to the
Complainant within 10 working days from the receipt of this order, certified
copies of all the documents and records desired by him in his application.
5. The complaint is, thus, disposed off.
6. Copies of this order be given free of cost to the parties.
(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
CIC/WB/C/2008/00804-SM