During the hearing, the Appellant alleged that he had been victimized for
using the RTI and suspended from the Club after a 40-year Membership only for
seeking information which otherwise also he was entitled to and which had been
denied to him. The Commission took note of this allegation and makes a strong
recommendation to the concerned authorities to ensure that Members are not
victimized/penalized for utilizing or taking recourse to a piece of legislature
which has the sanctity of the Parliament. By doing so, they would only be
bringing a bad name to an Organization which otherwise enjoys a good reputation.
Central
Information Commission
No.CIC/OK/A/2007/00290
Dated: 11 September 2007
Name of the Appellant : Shri Harish Tripathi,
Name of the Public Authority : Ministry of Urban Development
Background:
Shri Harish Tripathi of New Delhi filed an RTI-application with the Public
Information Officer, Land and Development Office, Ministry of Urban
Development, on 30 November 2006 seeking information on the amount of
misuse/damage charges liable to be paid by the Delhi Gymkhana Club Limited
w.e.f. 15 July 2004 till date under various heads. The Appellant also sought a
summary of the correspondence between the Land and Development Office and
the Delhi Gymkhana Club. The Appellant also sent a reminder to the concerned
PIO on 21 December 2006.
2. Not getting any reply within the stipulated period of 30 days, the Appellant
filed an appeal with the first Appellate Authority on 29 December 2006.
3. Dissatisfied with not getting any reply either from the PIO or from the
Appellate Authority, the Appellant approached the Central Information
Commission with a second appeal on 19 February 2007.
4. The bench of Dr. O.P. Kejariwal, information Commissioner, heard the
matter on 8 August 2007.
5. Shri Rakesh Kumar Sinha, L&DO and Appellate Authority and Shri H.K.
Beniwal, PIO, represented the Respondents.
6. The Appellant, Shri Harish Tripathi, was present in person.
Decision:
7. The Commission heard both the sides and noted that the first response of
the Respondents to the RTI-application of 30 November 2006 was sent only on 23 March 2007, that is, after a delay of nearly three months. The Commission,
therefore, decided to issue a Show Cause Notice to the Respondents as to why a
penalty of Rs.250/- per day not be imposed on them for delay in reply beyond the
period prescribed for it in the RTI-Act.
8. As for the correspondence between the Club and the L&DO office, the
summary of which was required by the Appellant, the Commission directed the
Respondents to open up for inspection the concerned file/records to the Appellant
at a time mutually convenient. The Appellant is also authorized to take
photocopies of the pages that he wants which will be provided to him free of cost.
9. This should be done before 10 October 2007.
10. During the hearing, the Appellant alleged that he had been victimized for
using the RTI and suspended from the Club after a 40-year Membership only for
seeking information which otherwise also he was entitled to and which had been
denied to him. The Commission took note of this allegation and makes a strong
recommendation to the concerned authorities to ensure that Members are not
victimized/penalized for utilizing or taking recourse to a piece of legislature
which has the sanctity of the Parliament. By doing so, they would only be
bringing a bad name to an Organization which otherwise enjoys a good reputation.
11. The case is thus disposed of.
Sd/-
(O.P. Kejariwal)
Information Commissioner
Authenticated true copy:
Sd/-
(G. Subramanian)
Assistant Registrar
Cc:
1. Shri Harish Tripathi, D-184, Saket, New Delhi-110017
2. Shri H.K. Beniwal, Dy. L&DO and Public Information Officer, Ministry of
Urban Development, Land & Development Office, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi
3. The L&DO and Appellate Authority, Ministry of Urban Development, Land &
Development Office, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi
4. Officer Incharge, NIC
5. Press E Group, CIC
No comments:
Post a Comment