RTI NEWS

File Notings By Junior Officers For Use By His Superiors Not Third Party Information Under RTI Act: Delhi HC
Info panel slaps fine of Rs 75,000 on PF official
FIR against 8 sub-registrar office employees
CIC hauls up man for RTI ‘bombardment’
More …

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File Notings By Junior Officers For Use By His Superiors Not Third Party Information Under RTI Act: Delhi HC

Feb 21, 2018 : Dtf.in 
Hon’ble Delhi High Court has recently ruled that Section 8 of the Act provides for exemption from disclosure of certain information and none of the provisions of Section 8 provides for blanket exemption that entitles the respondent to withhold all notings on a file. 
The petitioner had challenged the order dated 04.09.2013 passed by the Central Information Commission. Briefly stated, the petitioner had filed an application dated 06.11.2010 under the Right to Information Act, 2005 seeking certain information including the certified copy of a report sent by the then Governor of Karnataka to the Union Home Ministry relating to the political situation in the State of Karanataka and for imposing President’s Rule in that State. The petitioner had also sought information as to what action had been taken by the Government of India on the said report and also the file notings in respect of the said report.
The said information was declined to the petitioner. The petitioner filed an appeal before the the First Appellate Authority (FAA) under Section 19 (1) of the Act, but was not successful. Aggrieved by the order passed by the FAA, the petitioner preferred a second appeal under section 19(3) of the Act, which was stated to be pending consideration before the CIC.
In the meantime, the petitioner filed another application dated 07.06.2012 under the Act, inter alia, seeking the information, including complete details of file notings made on the above said file number as on date, list of the officers with their designation to whom before the said file is placed. Also provide me the noting made by them on the said file, etc.
It has, inter alia, been ruled by Hon’ble High Court as under:-
“8. ….. the file concerning the petitioner‟s application cannot, obviously, be considered confidential/secret. Admittedly, this is also not the case of the respondents; they do not claim that the notings on the file relating to the petitioner‟s application dated 06.11.2010 have been classified as secret or confidential.
9.  In view of the above, the impugned order, inasmuch as it holds that the information sought for by the petitioner is exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(e) of the Act, cannot be sustained.
10   The contention that notings made by a junior officer for use by his superiors is third party information, which requires compliance of section 11 of the Act, is unmerited. Any noting made in the official records of the Government/public authority is information belonging to the concerned Government/public authority. The question whether the information relates to a third party is to be determined by the nature of the information and not its source. The Government is not a natural person and all information contained in the official records of the Government/public authority is generated by individuals (whether employed with the Government or not) or other entities. Thus, the reasoning, that the notings or information generated by an employee during the course of his employment is his information and thus has to be treated as relating to a third party, is flawed.
11.  Section 8 of the Act provides for exemption from disclosure of certain information and none of the provisions of Section 8 provide for blanket exemption that entitles the respondent to withhold all notings on a file.”
The impugned order has been set aside by Hon’ble Delhi High Court. The matter has been remanded to the CIC to consider afresh. The CIC has been requested to pass a final order as expeditiously as possible and preferably within a period of three months from the date of the order.
More: Copy of Order >>> Delhi HC Judgement dated 12.02.2018 – Paras Nath Singh Vs. Union of India >>> RTI Judgments

Info panel slaps fine of Rs 75,000 on PF official

Tribuneindia.com
February 12, 2018
The Central Information Commission has slapped a penalty of Rs 75,000 on the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO)-cum-Regional Provident Fund Commissioner (Pension), Delhi, for not furnishing documents sought under the RTI Act.
As per order, the penalty will be recovered from the salary of the CPIO, Mukesh Kumar, in five equal instalments. The first instalment will be paid by March 18, while the deadline for the last instalment is July 18. …

FIR against 8 sub-registrar office employees

Thehindu.com
February 06, 2018
Eight officials in the Devanahalli sub-registrar office are in the dock for allegedly misplacing a document pertaining to landowners.
Based on directions from the Information Commission, the Director General and Inspector General of Police has directed the Devanahalli police to register an FIR against eight officials — both retired and serving — under Section 9 of the Karnataka State Public Records Act. …

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CIC hauls up man for RTI ‘bombardment’

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Jan 27, 2018
NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has come down hard on an applicant for filing multiple applications with a view to harass the public authority.
Information commissioner Yashovardhan Azad called out the actions of the applicant, who had filed a slew of pleas after a dispute with a neighbour. “The commission notes that the appellant is a habitual litigant and has been raising myriad queries about numerous complaints he has filed before various public offices. …

RTI used mostly to settle personal scores: Information Commissioner Bimal Julka

Economictimes.indiatimes.com
Jan 23, 2018
NEW DELHI: The Right to Information Act, conceived as a tool for the common man to make the government more accountable towards administration and governance, has in the past few years seen an “unfortunate shift”.
The number of people filing RTI applications asking about how government schemes are being implemented has shrunk, and it has largely become a weapon to dig out private details about people to settle personal scores, information commissioner Bimal Julka told state commissioners at a meeting on Saturday. …

Denying Information For Lack Of Aadhaar Violates RTI Act: Central Information Commission

Ndtv.com 
December 28, 2017
New Delhi:  Denial of information for the lack of Aadhaar card is a serious breach of right guaranteed under the RTI Act and amounts to harassment of the applicant, the Central Information Commission has held.
The Commission has imposed maximum penalty under the act on the then RTI handling officer of the Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) for not providing information on gifts purchased by it and expenses incurred by its CMDs on the grounds that identification documents were not provided by the applicant. …

Woman files RTI for estranged husband’s caste, CIC in a fix

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com 
Dec 27, 2017
NEW DELHI: A woman’s request for the caste certificate of her estranged husband has put the CIC in a fix. The request for the certificate, which the woman claimed was for her child, is not allowed under the RTI Act, as it is information about a third party. The CIC however, has directed the Northern Railway to seek the estranged husband’s consent to allow sharing of the information for the sake of his child’s future. …

Providing illegible documents amounts to denial of information: CIC

Dec 11, 2017 : Dtf.in 
A perusal of the CIC’s Interim shows that the appellant had alleged that the CPIO was causing delay in resolving his seniority issue which has resulted in reduction of his salary by Rs. 17,000 (approximately). The Commission found that the appellant has a genuine case, as giving illegible documents amounts to denial of information.
Accordingly, the CPIO was, inter alia, directed to explain why the Public Authority should not be directed to pay compensation to the appellant for providing illegible documents, within 15 days from the date of the order. Further, the Public Authority has been directed to return the amount of Rs. 176 deposited by the appellant.
The case is posted by Hon’ble Information Commissioner for compliance proceedings on 04.01.2018.
See the CIC Decision >>> Selected Decisions of Central Information Commission (CIC)

Court records can also be obtained under RTI: CIC

Nov 08, 2017 : Umesh Sharma, Advocate, Legalhelplineindia (www.legalhelplineindia.com)
New Delhi. The CIC has ruled that the court records are part of the public documents, hence the same can also be obtained under the RTI Act. The definition of public records is also dealt in Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1972, which reads as under:
“74. Public documents.—The following documents are public documents :
(1) Documents forming the acts, or records of the acts
(i) of the sovereign authority,
(ii) of official bodies and tribunals, and
(iii) of public officers, legislative, judicial and executive, 1[of any part of India or of the Commonwealth], or of a foreign country; 1[of any part of India or of the Commonwealth], or of a foreign country;
(2) Public records kept 2[in any State] of private documents.”
The CIC appeal was against an order passed by the PIO of district courts wherein the records of the court proceedings were denied to a complainant. CIC has declared him entitled to the records and issued directions to the PIO.
There is a process of  inspection of the court records and granting the certified copies of the court records and every court has a copying agency where anyone can apply for certified copies of the court records as per the rules and obtain the certified copies of the documents of a particular case file. The rules however mandate the distinction between decided and pending cases. The records of a decided case can be granted to anyone on application but for the pending cases, the records can only be obtained by the party concerned. Besides this the records of the court can be summoned to any other court and presented.
Some unanswered questions in this regard still remain determination as to whether the cause list maintained by the courts is a judicial record or a public record? Several statutory, mandatory and administrative registers maintained in the courts are also undefined whether they are judicial records or administrative records. 
Since the court records contain both judicial as well as administrative records containing the personal information of the litigating parties, a thin line of demarcation is to be drawn before disclosing all the information to any third party and making the said records as public records. In some cases, courts specifically pass gagging orders for keeping the records in sealed covers, in some cases such as crime against women the names of the females or victims is not to be disclosed. There are several unanswered questions still to be delved upon. The right to privacy of an individual also needs to be kept in mind while disclosing personal information.
The order passed by CIC will go a long way in establishing transparency. In an era where all the public records should be available online in digital form, this order of CIC is a step forward.

Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) Cell and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) not public authorities under the RTI Act: CIC

Oct 04, 2017 : Dtf.in 
The CIC vide its Decision dated 16.09.2017 has decided that the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) Cell is not a public authority.
The CIC vide its Decision dated 04.09.2017 has decided that the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) not a public authority. 
To see copies of the CIC Decisions dated 16.09.2017 and 04.09.2017, please click here.

Maintain order sheets, upload within three days: Delhi HC to Central Information Commission

Moneycontrol.com 
Sep 24, 2017
In a bid to make the functioning of the country’s transparency watchdog Central Information Commission (CIC) transparent, the Delhi High Court has directed it to maintain a record of daily proceedings and upload it within three days of the hearing a case.
The order came after the CIC told the High Court that most of the cases were decided on the basis of a single hearing and hence, there was no requirement for maintaining the record of daily orders. …

Disclose DHJS exam interview marks under RTI: HC

India.com 
September 24, 2017 
New Delhi, Sep 24 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has directed its information officer to disclose under the RTI, the marks awarded by an interview panel to candidates of Delhi Higher Judicial Service (DHJS) examination held in 2013. 
The court said when the results of the examination have been placed in public domain, there was no question of claiming any exemption under the Right To Information (RTI) Act. …

Amount charged after delaying the information to be returned

Sep 16, 2017 : Dtf.in
Information regarding the number of outsider postmen at Jalgaon HO and since when they had been discharging their duties along with their names and other particulars, was sought by an information seeker under the Right to Information Act, 2005. CPIO provided point-wise information 25.02.2015. FAA vide his order stated that information on record be supplied within the stipulated period. Being dissatisfied by the response received, the appellant approached this Commission.
The CIC on May 29, 2017 ordered, inter alia, as under:-
“It is wrong to collect huge amount after delaying the response by two months. As per law they cannot charge if they have delayed the response beyond one month. Hence the Commission directs the respondent authority to provide complete information after certifying the documents and return Rs.7,096 to the appellant.”
More: CIC Decision dated 14.09.2017 on the Appeal filed by Shri R.B. Patil Vs. PIO, Department of Posts >>> CIC Decisions

Service Details Of Employees Amounts To ‘Personal Information’ under the RTI Act: SC

Sep 01, 2017 : Dtf.in
The Supreme Court has held that service details of employees, being personal in nature, was exempt from being disclosed under Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. Such details cannot be provided unless there is involvement of any larger public interest.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court has held as under:-
“14)  … … It is for the reasons that, firstly, the information sought by respondent No.1 of individual employees working in the Bank was personal in nature; secondly, it was exempted from being disclosed under Section 8(j) of the Act and lastly, neither respondent No.1 disclosed any public interest much less larger public interest involved in seeking such information of the individual employee and nor any finding was recorded by the Central Information Commission and the High Court as to the involvement of any larger public interest in supplying such information to respondent No.1.
15)   It is for these reasons, we are of the considered view that the application made by respondent No.1 under Section 6 of the Act was wholly misconceived and was, therefore, rightly rejected by the Public Information Officer and Chief Public Information
Officer whereas wrongly allowed by the Central Information Commission and the High Court.
16)   In this view of the matter, we allow the appeal … “ 
More: SC Judgment dated 31.08.2017 – Canara Bank Rep. by its Deputy Gen. Manager Vs. C.S. Shyam & Anr. >>> Supreme Court Judgements

High Court tells government to disclose IB report to IFS officer

Hindustantimes.com
Aug 24, 2017
The Delhi high court on Wednesday upheld a CIC order directing the Centre to give IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi a copy of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) report regarding alleged harassment and false cases filed against the whistle-blower for exposing graft during his tenure as forest officer in Haryana.
The court dismissed the IB’s plea challenging Chief Information Commission’s (CIC) April 2016 order directing to provide a copy of the report in relation to the alleged harassment, human rights violation, and false cases filed against Chaturvedi. …

CIC orders Madras High Court to publish impunged orders on website

Indiaexpress.com
August 17, 2017 
The Central Information Commission has directed the Madras High Court registry to upload impugned orders of lower courts and tribunals on its website in larger public interest. 
Chief Information Commissioner R K Mathur said the disclosures would help the general public, litigants and stakeholders link the orders of the High Court with impugned or challenged orders. …

61 per cent dip in penalties imposed by CIC: Govt

India.com 
July 19, 2017
New Delhi, Jul 19 (PTI) The number of penalties imposed by the Central Information Commission have reduced by 61 per cent between 2013-14 and 2015-16. 
“In so far the Central Information Commission (CIC) is concerned, penalty was imposed in 138 number of cases in the year 2013-14, 44 cases in 2014-15 and 54 cases in 2015-16. No data is centrally maintained for state information commissions,” Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Jitendra Singh today said in the Lok Sabha. …

RTI would be discarded if applicant dies: Centre

Aisanage.com 
Jul 12, 2017, 
Mumbai: The Centre’s new set of draft rules for Right To Information (RTI) Act, which makes it tougher for applicants to seek information under the Act, has become controversial. One of the major provisions that is being opposed by all, says that the application would be discarded if the applicant dies. RTI activists across the country have been fighting to remove this particular provision, which according to them would jeopardise the lives of the applicants. There have been allegations that the government has tried to dilute the RTI Act ever since its inception. …

Right to Information or Right to Intimidation?

Hindustantimes.com 
Jul 08, 2017 
Earlier this year the government proposed some changes to the RTI rules, which has caused concern to activists. Once passed, the RTI Rules 2017 will replace the RTI Rules 2012. The proposed rules were put out on the DoPT website for comments, and many say they have written to the department with their suggestions. Two of the most worrying changes in the rules are the provisions that proceedings pending before the commission shall abate on the death of the appellant and that the Commission may allow an appellant to withdraw an appeal if the matter has not been finally heard or a decision or order not been pronounced already by the Commission. (HT) …

Why can’t Governor’s office come under RTI ambit: SC

India.com
July 9, 2017
New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Why can’t the office of high constitutional functionaries like Governor come under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Supreme Court asked today.
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Amitava Roy raised the question during the hearing of a plea file by the Centre challenging a 2011 order of Bombay High Court directing the disclosure of Governor’s report given to the President about the political situation in Goa in 2007. …

Central Information Commission directs govt to disclose data of officers facing corruption charges

Firstpost.com 
Jul, 02 2017 
New Delhi: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the government to proactively put in the public domain data about officials facing corruption cases in each department. 
The transparency watchdog has directed the Department of Personnel and Training to ensure that “numerical” data of government officials facing corruption charges should be brought out in public domain but not their names. …

Central Information Commission directs govt to disclose data of officers facing corruption charges

Firstpost.com 
Jul, 02 2017 
New Delhi: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the government to proactively put in the public domain data about officials facing corruption cases in each department.  
The transparency watchdog has directed the Department of Personnel and Training to ensure that “numerical” data of government officials facing corruption charges should be brought out in public domain but not their names. …

Why can’t Governor’s office come under RTI ambit: SC

India.com 
July 9, 2017 
New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Why can’t the office of high constitutional functionaries like Governor come under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Supreme Court asked today. 
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Amitava Roy raised the question during the hearing of a plea file by the Centre challenging a 2011 order of Bombay High Court directing the disclosure of Governor’s report given to the President about the political situation in Goa in 2007. …

CIC returns RTI plea written in Gujarati

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com 
Jun 5, 2017 
Ahmedabad: Central Information Commissioner (CIC) has returned a plea under Right to Information (RTI) Act filed by a city-based activist seeking details of black money seized after demonetization. The office has said it has returned the application as it was in Gujarati and not written in English or Hindi. …

Draft RTI rules: Clause allowing appeals to be withdrawn puts applicants at risk, warn activists

Scroll.in
Apr 04, 2017
After five years, the Union government has decided to update the rules for the implementation of the Right to Information Act, which was passed by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime in 2005 to provide a transparent mechanism for citizens to access information.

The Department of Personnel and Training, the nodal department enforcing the Act, put up the draft rules on its website last week, seeking feedback from the public by April 15. The idea behind the revamp of the rules is to simplify the process of obtaining information. However, certain changes proposed in the new draft rules have not gone down well with transparency activists, who fear it may end up as a tool to intimidate them and discourage citizens from using the law. …

CIC directed Chief Passport Officer to lay down clearly articulated policy, shared with general public, for re-verification of police report

March 13, .2017 : Dtf.in
New Delhi. The Chief Passport Officer has been directed by the Hon’ble CIC, inter alia, to lay down clearly articulated policy, shared with general public, for re-verification of police report. The Hon’ble CIC’s order was passed while deciding the second appeal from an RTI applicant who had applied for issuance of a new passport.
The respondent participated in the hearing through counsel in person. The appellant did not participate in the hearing.
In the order passed on March 08, 2017, the respondent was directed to provide to the appellant the information in context of his RTI application within 30 days of the said order. The Respondent CPIO was directed to show cause why action should not be taken against them for contravening the provisions of the RTI Act including not giving correct information, within 30 days of the said order. Further, the Chief Passport Officer was “directed to issue directions to all offices for:
(i) Invariably giving point-wise replies to RTI application.
(ii) Specific deficient documents should be clearly mentioned.
(iii) If an adverse police report is received, its copy should be sent to applicant immediately for his comments.
(iv) Clearly articulated policy, shared with general public, for re-verification of police report should be laid down.” The time granted for compliance is “within 30 days”.

The above information is subject to the Disclaimer of Dtf.in.

Information on consumer amenities must be given under RTI: CIC

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com 
Mar 9, 2017
CHENNAI: Data on the number of toilets, water supply, electricity and number of counters provided for transactions of receipts and withdrawals in a bank branch cannot be denied under the Right to Information Act.
This is the gist of a ruling by the Central Information Commission (CIC) recently, in response to an RTI petition filed by Chennai-based consumer activist, T Sadagopan, who, in 2015 had filed an RTI petition with the Avadi branch of Bank of India (BoI). …

Cooperative Banks within the purview of the RTI Act: Bombay High Court

March 3, 2017 : Dtf.in
It has been held by the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court that co-operative institutions “need to supply” information to any “public authority” established under the Cooperative Societies Act. The petitioners had sought exemption under the RTI Act, 2005.
In para 10 of their judgment dated February 13, 2017, in the case of Jalgaon Jillha Urban Cooperative Banks Association Ltd., Jalgaon Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors., Hon’ble Bombay High Court has decided as under:-
“The provisions of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act if read with the definition of information given in section 2(f) of the Act, it can be said that everything which is mentioned in the definition of information needs to be supplied  by the cooperative institution to the authority created under the Cooperative Societies Act. The definition of ‘public authority’ given in section 2(h) shows that such public authority can be created by any law made by the State Legislature. It is already observed that the officers like Register and his subordinate officers are appointed under the Cooperative Societies Act and they have the control over the aforesaid things. In view of these circumstances, the observations made by the Apex Court in the paragraphs already quoted can be used safely when the information is sought from the authority like Register or his subordinates under the Cooperative Societies Act. Thus, the reliefs claimed in the present petition cannot be granted as the reliefs can be used directly or indirectly by the cooperative institutions to deny the supply of the information. The circumstances that the other matters were allowed by this court, other Bench of this Court, cannot come in the way of giving present decision by this Court as the decision of the Supreme Court was not there when other matters were decided by this Court. This Court holds that no relief which is claimed in the present petition can be given to the petitioner. The previous interpretation made by this Court is not correct interpretation in view of the law laid down by the Apex Court. In the result, the petition stands dismissed.” 

More: Cooperative Banks/Societies within the ambit of RTI Act –  Bombay HC Judgment dated 13.02.2017 – Jalgaon Jillha Urban Cooperative Banks Association Ltd., Jalgaon Vs. The State of Maharashtra & Others [Section 2(h)]

Housing societies bound by RTI Act, must share info: Court

The petitioner had argued before the court that cooperative institutions registered under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 cannot be treated as `public authority’ under sections 2(h) and 8 of the RTI Act 
Economic Times 
March 02, 2017
Cooperative institutions, including around 75,000 housing societies in the Mumbai metropolitan region, can no longer refuse to share records under the Right To Information (RTI) Act with the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court ruling that these establishments come under the purview of the transparency legislation. …

Delhi HC stays CIC fine on DU for rejecting RTI queries on PM, Irani

Indianexpress.com 
February 21, 2017 
The Delhi High Court today stayed three separate CIC orders imposing Rs 25,000 penalty on Delhi University’s public information officer for rejecting RTI applications seeking facts about the graduation degrees of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Smriti Irani. Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva observed that the RTI applicants “wasted judicial time” by filing “frivolous” pleas before the Central Information Commission (CIC) for rejection of their applications on technical grounds, instead of addressing the deficiencies pointed out by the central public information officer (CPIO) of Delhi University (DU). …

HC quashes CIC order asking BCD to give minutes of meetings

India.com 
February 15, 2017 
New Delhi, Feb 15 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has set aside a CIC order directing the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) to provide the minutes of all meetings held by it from April 2010 till March 2015 and its sources of income.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said the Central Information Commission (CIC) “fell in error” in issuing the direction to put all such information in public domain as the minutes of meetings would contain “confidential personal information and information received in fiduciary capacity”. …

Frivolous queries irk officials

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com  
Feb 08, 2017
AURANGABAD: Several government and semi-government officials here said they have become familiar with some persons, who habitually file RTI applications. They claimed that a closer scrutiny of such applications would reveal that the whole purpose of filing the Right To Information pleas contravenes the purpose of the transparency Act. …

Students can now seek ICSE answer sheets, re-evaluation: Info panel

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Feb 6, 2017
MUMBAI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has brought the private Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board under the purview of the RTI Act. The ruling came after the appellant’s request for copies of his son’s ICSE exam answer sheets for six subjects was turned down. Kaushik’s father had applied for rechecking of his son’s papers, but CISCE norms only allow the verification of marks at a fee of Rs 4,000 for all papers. …

Top law officer out of RTI ambit: HC

Telegraphindia.com 
New Delhi, Feb. 3 (PTI): The office of the attorney-general of India does not come under the Right to Information Act as it is not a “public authority”, Delhi High Court ruled today.
The verdict by a division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath came on an appeal by the Centre challenging the decision of a single judge who had held that the AG’s office is a public authority under the ambit of the transparency law. …

More than 60 per cent CIC orders flawed: study

Dnaindia.com  
Mon, 30 Jan 2017 
It was conducted by the Research, Assessment and Group (RAAG) and Satark Nagrik Sangathan, which look after the implementation of RTI 
More than 60 percent of the central information commission (CIC) orders are “deficient” in terms of “recording critical facts” and “grounds for decision of the IC and the basis thereof.” …

CIC has no power to order jail authorities reg compensation: HC

Business-standard.com  
January 27, 2017 
Central Information Commission (CIC) does not have the power to direct Tihar Jail to develop a system of compensating inmates who have been incarcerated beyond their period of sentence, Delhi High Court has held.  …

Central Information Commission order on Narendra Modi degree stayed by Delhi HC

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com 
Jan 24, 2017 
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday stayed till April 27 a Central Information Commission order asking Delhi University to allow inspection of records of all students who cleared BA examination in 1978, which includes prime minister Narendra Modi. …

Man uses RTI to prove his wife is employed

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com 
Dec 24, 2016 
LUCKNOW: Settling family disputes through RTI is a trend not new to UP State Information Commission (UPSIC). The latest to have reached the commission is from Meerut. The case pertains to a harried husband.
The man has filed a complaint in the commission and said he is being harassed by his wife. He has urged to provide him the information he has sought under the Right to Information (RTI). The information, he said, if given, would be of extreme help. …

CIC directs Railway Board to amend the rules for copying charges under RTI

Dec 14, 2016 : Dtf.in 
New Delhi. The Central Information Commission has, on December 5, directed the Railway Board to stop charging Rs 750 per page for photocopying and follow the provisions of the RTI Act and Rules. Under the RTI Act, Rs. two per page has been fixed for photocopying. The appellant did not participate in the hearing. 
The respondent stated that the appellant was asked to deposit copying fee Rs. 750/- for reservation chart as per Railway Rules but the appellant did not respond to that letter. The appellant filed 2nd appeal before the CIC.
Hon’ble CIC, in its order, directed the Railway Board to take steps to amend the rules regarding copying charges suitably to bring them in conformity with the letter and spirit of the RTI Act and Rules.

Disclose details of corrupt officials: Info panel to govt

Order issued on an application by Rohtak-based RTI activist  
Tribuneindia.com 
Rohtak, December 5, 2016 
Efforts of a Rohtak-based RTI activist to get details about the involvement of IAS, HCS, IPS and HPS officers in corruption cases finally seem to be bearing fruit.
The Haryana government as well as the State Information Commission had earlier refused to furnish the information sought by the applicant under the RTI Act. The applicant then moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which directed the commission to reconsider the matter. …

Right of retired employee & RTI

Thehansindia.com
Nov 29,2016 
Two issues show the inefficiency in the system– non-filling of the vacancies and not giving pension and other benefits on the day of retirement. …

Citizens To File Information Commission Complaints, Appeals Online

Ndtv.com 
November 04, 2016 
New Delhi:  Right To Information or RTI applicants will soon be able to file complaints and appeals with Central Information Commission (CIC) online.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the two-day annual convention of the CIC on Monday, during which he will launch the ‘e-Court’ system – aimed at enabling speedy disposal of appeals and complaints by using digital technology. …

Make public report on aviator death: CIC

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com 
Sep 28, 2016 
NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Navy to make public the inquiry report on the death of Lt Cdr Rahul Nair during a 2010 air show even as it pulled up officials for their “cavalier attitude”. In a strongly worded order, information commissioner D P Sinha said that it appeared as if an “attempt has been made to protect the interest of the defaulters and that certainly does not out-weigh the interest of the soldier who lost his life in such an accident”. …

Haryana Information Commission rules that Students can seek Photocopies of Answer Sheets

Enaindia.in  
New Delhi. August 12 (ENA). State Information Commission of Haryana has ruled that students seeking photocopies of their answer sheets under the Right to Information (RTI) Act cannot be denied permission by universities.

According to the ruling of the information commission even if university rules don’t permit the distribution of photocopies of answer sheets to students on demand, the rules under the RTI Act supersedes any university rule thereby giving students the right to demand and get photocopies of their answer sheets. …

Compensation to be paid by teacher, school if kids subjected to corporal punishment 

July 25, 2016 : Dtf.in

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has on last Friday held that the teacher and the school also shall be liable to pay compensation to the injured child according to law. 
As per the order of the Information Commissioner, the denial of information by the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) was unwarranted.
The information was denied by the CPIO on the ground that it was third party information. The applicant submitted that he needed the information so that his daughter could secure custody of children in her marital dispute against husband Yagya Dutt Arya. The Information Commissioner has decided that “Even if Section 8(1)(j) is assumed to be invoked, the school should have considered that imposing corporal punishment on children is against several laws including Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, is a public wrong, its disclosure has relationship with public activity and it will be in public interest, the revelation of which would not cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual, besides larger public interest is involved in disclosure only.” 
The Information Commissioner has, inter alia, passed the following order:-

“28. The teacher and the school also shall be liable to pay compensation to the injured child according to law. The Commission directs the KVS, headquarters and regional directors to voluntarily disclose whether they have framed policy as advised by the NCPCR to eliminate the corporal punishment in their schools, details of incidents of corporal punishments and action taken against liable teachers, compensation to be paid and amount of compensation paid to the victims etc, every year, beginning with 2015-16, within three months. The Commission recommends that each school shall publish such a report every year, which shall be the model for other school. It will go a long way in making school a place of pleasant learning free from assaults and humiliations. The KVS also should have a policy of paying some amount as compensation to the victim children and that amount should be deducted from the salary of liable teacher. The public authority is directed to collect details of teachers punished for corporal assaults on children including the case of Mr. Yagya Dutt Arya. The Commission directs the KVS headquarters to circulate copy of this order to all schools and regional offices. Disposed of.”

See CIC Order dated 22.07.2016 >>> CIC Decision dated 22.07.2016 on Appeal filed by Bhramanand Mishra Vs. PIO, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangthan, Lucknow 
[Sections 4(1)(a) & 8(1)(j); RTE Act, JJ Act; Art. 21,21A & 39(e) of the Constitution of India; Inquiry Report, School] >>> CIC Decisions

Private colleges, schools under RTI ambit

Tribuneindia.com 
Shimla, June 9, 2016
To ensure transparency in the functioning of private educational institutions, the government has decided to bring all private colleges, senior secondary and high schools under the RTI Act 2005 with immediate effect. However, the Act will not cover medical and nursing colleges and schools affiliated to the CBSE and the ICSE. …

CIC bans appearance of lawyer, HC stays order

Timesofindia.indiatimes.com 
Apr 3, 2016
New Delhi, Apr 3 () An Information Commissioner has “banned” the appearance of a counsel for the External Affairs Ministry before his bench on the ground that he was not discharging his duties as an advocate, an order which has been stayed by the Delhi High Court. …

Central Information Commission does away with need of hard copies for online appeals

Zeenews.india.com   
March 15, 2016
New Delhi: In a major procedural change, the Central Information Commission has done away with the mandatory provision of sending signed hard copy of appeals through post even though the appellant approached it online. …

Don’t disclose students’ information without consulting parents: CIC    

Zeenews.india.com
In a warning to the RTI applicant, Acharyulu said, “The Commission records its admonition against the appellant for misuse of RTI against the school child and warns him against such misuse in future.
January 26, 2016
The Commission admonished the principal of RD Public School and Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of Directorate of Education (DoE) of Delhi government for disclosing information about a student to his relatives who had a dispute with the student’s family. …

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