Report submitted by the CBI in the Lok Sabha regarding procurement of sleepers by the Railways
18 Jan, 2013Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding some allegations of corruption in the procurement of sleepers by the Railways. He sought for a copy of the report submitted by the CBI in the Lok Sabha. The Public Information Officer (PIO) declined to furnish any information on the ground that the CBI was included in the second schedule to the RTI Act.
Proceeding
During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the respondent submitted that the matter regarding the responsibility of the CBI to disclose information under the provisions of the RTI Act was pending before the High Court and therefore it should not be directed to disclose any such information. The appellant pointed out that the CBI was obliged to provide the desired information since it pertained to allegations of corruption.
View of CIC
The Commission observed that the information sought pertains to allegations of corruption and therefore is squarely covered under the proviso to section 24 of the RTI Act which mandates the exempted organisations like the CBI to disclose such information. The CIC agreed with the contention of the appellant and directed the PIO to provide to the appellant the copy of the report which the CBI had presented to the Lok Sabha in this matter. If the CBI had presented no such report to the Lok Sabha, the PIO should inform the appellant suitably.
Comment
All the organisations covered in the second schedule to the RTI Act are beyond the purview of the Act except for the allegations of corruption or human rights violations.
Citation: Mr. Mithilesh Kumar Singh v. Central Bureau of Investigation in File No.CIC/SM/A/2012/000758 & 1387
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/973
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