CIC- RTI is a cherished right and should not be misused
30 Oct, 2012Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Export Inspection Council of India (EIC) seeking information on multiple queries regarding engagement of Consultants against a certain advertisement of EIC along with various details of officers of EIA applying for the post of Joint Director. The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed that the information could not disclosed as the process of engagement as consultant is yet to be complete. In response to the first appeal filed by the appellant, the First Appellate Authority (FAA) upheld the reply of the PIO with the observation that the information sought for by the appellant does not serve any public interest. Further he noted that the appellant has a habit of filing applications in a large numbers, he has filed around 350 applications, forcing the department to commit its scarce resources and incur considerable cost both in terms of opportunity lost and manpower/ postal cost.
Proceeding
During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the respondent submitted that the appellant on the same day had filed two other RTI applications with EIA Delhi and EIC for seeking information on similar context. The application was forwarded by EIA, Delhi to PIO, EIC, who in turn replied to the appellant in respect of both RTI applications. The PIO further submitted that the appellant is filing multiple applications on similar matter with different offices of the organization on the same day that has nothing to do with public interest.
View of CIC
The Commission observed that the information asked was disclosable information to which the exemption provisions of the RTI Act did not apply. The Commission directed the PIO to reply to the appellant on each of the points of the RTI application. The Commission observed that the Right to Information is a cherished right and should not be misused and also advised the appellant to desist from filing multiple RTI applications on the same issue.
Citation: Mr. Bhagwan Chand Saxena v. Export Inspection Council of India in Case No. CIC/SS/A/2012/0001365
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/759
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission