New Central Information Commissioners Appointed

Shri Amitava Bhattacharyya, Indian Administrative Service, (GJ:1980), retired Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, Shri Bimal Julka, Indian Administrative Service, (MP:1979), retired Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Shri Divya Prakash Sinha, Indian Police Serve (MT: 1979), retired Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat, as Information Commissioners in the...

No one knows how system of long summer vacations started in Supreme Court; CIC affirms RTI response from SC [Read Order]

Disposing of an appeal filed by RTI Activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal, Chief Information Commissioner Radha Krishna Mathur noted that both, the Department of Justice and the Supreme Court CPIO does not hold record of the tradition of summer vacations in the Supreme Court.The appellant, Mr. Agrawal had sought complete information, together with...

CIC raps CPIO and school principal for disclosing minor’s information under RTI; records contempt against applicant [Read Order]

The Central Information Commission on Monday came down heavily on the Central Public Information Officer, and the Principal of a school, for disclosing information of a minor to an applicant under the Right to Information Act.CIC Madhubhashi Sridhar opined that the CPIO of DDE had given all the information to the appellant, without following the...

CMO is not post office to transfer RTIs : CIC [Read Order]

When Government formulated a scheme to give pensions to old aged widows and disabled persons below the poverty line and started paying pension, it is their duty to continue the payment or inform them pensions are scrapped as they do not afford to pay. Non-payment of pension and indecision about it reflects serious governance crisis. Mr. Charanjit...

Officers Accused of Sexual Harassment at work place are entitled to get copies of complaint under RTI: CIC [Read Order]

It is clear that the appellant and her husband are entitled to have copy of the complaint, even if it is assumed that the complaint is in the nature of sexual harassment, the Commission said.Central information Commission has directed the Delhi University to furnish the copies of complaint of harassment sought by a College professor. Prof M Sridhar...

CIC asks CBSE to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation for denying RTI seeking copy of answer sheets [Read Order]

CBSE compelling RTI applicants to sign undertakings illegal. The Commission directs the CBSE to put in place such system with conducive practices by which the Right to information of the appellants is not limited but facilitated, by removing the obstacles such as undertaking to give up their legal rights, Prof. Sridhar Acharyulu said in his...

CIC to consider feasibility of a ‘legal filter’ to sift out ‘needlessly repetitive and harassing’ RTI applications? [Read Order]

There is a need to consider the feasibility of having some legal filter based on objective criteria to sift out those applications that may appear to be needlesly repetitive and of a nature giving cause to allegations of harassment by the respondent, the commission said disposing of 3558 appeals preferred by Retd. IAF officer.Indian Air Force may...

Is bribing an RTI applicant a crime? CIC directs compensation of Rs. 10,000 to the applicant [Read Order]

Adjudicating a peculiar situation where a public servant was offered bribe not to file RTI requests, CIC Prof M Sridhar Acharyulu awarded compensation of Rs 10,000 to appellant.Prof. Sridhar noted that considering the definition of bribe under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the act may not amount to illegal gratification. However, he considered...