CIC Expresses 'Severe Displeasure' At Election Commission For Not Responding To RTI On EVMs For More Than A Year

The Central Information Commission (CIC)in its recent Order has criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI) while expressing "severe displeasure" for failing to respond to a Right to Information (RTI) Act request regarding Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for over a year. The RTI inquiry requested information regarding the actions taken by the poll panel in response to a "representation" from notable individuals regarding concerns about the credibility of EVMs and VVPAT machines in elections. Describing it as a "gross violation" of regulations, the CIC has instructed the EC to provide a written explanation.Chief Information Commissioner Heeralal Samariya ruled, “Commission, after perusal of case records and submissions made during hearing, expresses severe displeasure over the conduct of the then PIO in not having provided any reply to the RTI Application within the time frame stipulated under the RTI Act. Therefore, Commission directs the then PIO through the present PIO to furnish a written explanation for the gross violation of the provisions of the RTI.”“In doing so, if any other persons are also responsible for the omission, then the PIO shall serve a copy of this order on such other persons under intimation to the Commission and ensure that written submissions of all such concerned persons are sent to the Commission. The said written submission of the then PIO along with submissions of other concerned persons, if any, should reach the Commission within 30 days from the date of receipt of this order,” Samariya added.The above development came in a second appeal filed by the former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer M G Devasahayam.Notably, Devasahayam, who was among the signatories raising concerns about the credibility of electronic voting machines (EVMs), voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT), and the vote-counting process, had filed the application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the poll panel, seeking information on the actions taken regarding their representation on 22.11.2022. Through his RTI application, Devasahayam aimed to acquire details about the individuals and public authorities to whom the representation was forwarded, any meetings conducted on the matter, and all pertinent file notations.Facing dissatisfaction due to the lack of information provided by the Chief Public Information Officer (CPIO), Devasahayam filed a First Appeal on 27th December 2022. However, records indicate that the First Appellate Authority (FAA) did not adjudicate on this appeal.Feeling aggrieved and discontented, Devasahayam turned to CIC with a Second Appeal.Ms. Amrita Johri, the Authorized Representative of the Appellant, asserted that the pertinent information had not been provided by the PIO up to the present time. She pointed out that the First Appeal had also not been addressed by the FAA.Additionally, she clarified that the current RTI Application had been submitted online via the ECI portal, eliminating any possibility of it not being received.In response, the EC contended that they had not received the RTI Application in their office. However, it was submitted that EC was committed to providing a detailed response to the Appellant within 30 days.The Commission has also directed the concerned PIO to examine the instant RTI Application and provide a point-wise reply with regards to the instant RTI Application, to the Appellant, free of cost via speed post, within 30 days from the date of receipt of this order and accordingly compliance report to this effect be duly sent to the Commission by the PIO. “In doing so, PIO must make sure that information which is exempted from disclosure under RTI Act, 2005 must not be disclosed to the Appellant,” CIC stated while disposing of the appeal via its Order dt. 28.03.2024.Click Here To Read Order

CIC Expresses 'Severe Displeasure' At Election Commission For Not Responding To RTI On EVMs For More Than A Year

Bhavya Singh

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