Information regarding the letters written by the Chief Ministers to the Prime Minister
14 Nov, 2012Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) seeking the copies of all the letters written by the Chief Ministers of the State Governments to the Prime Minister since the year 2004 and the information about the action taken on those letters. He also sought the copies of all the letters written by the Central Government to the Chief Ministers of the States since the year 1999.The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed him that the desired information was not available in the form in which it had been sought and that the collection and compilation of the desired information would disproportionately divert the resources of the PMO. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) directed the PIO to write to the appellant again explaining in greater detail why the information could not be provided.
View of CIC
The Central Information Commission (CIC) observed that the information sought covers a vast period. It includes not only all the letters written by the Chief Ministers to the Prime Minister but also about the action taken on those letters as well as all letters written by the Central Government to the Chief Ministers. The CIC further added that it is impossible to collect and collate such information all across the Central Government. The CIC upheld the views of the PIO and rejected the appeal.
Citation: Mr. Ashish Pandey v. Prime Minister’s Office in File No.CIC/SM/A/2012/000683
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/798
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission