Appellant: signatory of the self cheque was her father who had expired, it is in public interest to know as to how was the self cheque encashed after the death of signatory - CIC: provide statement of pension account, details of the amount withdrawn etc.
16 Dec, 2013Statement of pension account, details of the amount withdrawn & copy of the cheque withdrawing the amount was denied u/s 8(1)(j) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. - Appellant: signatory of the self cheque was her father who had expired, it is in public interest to know as to how was the self cheque encashed after the signatory had expired - CIC: provide the information
O R D E R
RTI application
1. The appellant filed an RTI application with the PIO on 17.7.2012 seeking details of withdrawal of money from the pension account of her late father, on 26.3.2012. She also sought statement of account of that account and photocopy of the cheque withdrawing the money. The CPIO denied the information on 30.7.2012 under section 8(1)(j) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. of the RTI Act.
2. Not satisfied with the reply of the PIO, the appellant filed an appeal on 10.9.2012 with the first appellate authority (FAA). No reply of the FAA is available on the file. The appellant approached the Commission on 22.11.2012 in second appeal.
Hearing
3. The appellant referred to her RTI application of 17.7.2012 and stated that she has sought information on two points which are clearly stated in the RTI application, viz., statement of account of the pension account of her late father and details of the amount withdrawn from this account on 26.3.2012 along with photo copy of the cheque withdrawing the amount.
4. The appellant stated that she wanted to know the time at which the cheque was encashed and by whom was it encashed. The appellant stated that she had come to know that the cheque was encashed between 11.00 AM to 11.30 AM on 26.3.2012. The appellant stated that the reason behind the RTI application is the fact that this was a cheque to be paid to self, but the signatory of the self cheque was her father who had expired a short while before at 9.45 AM on 26.3.2012.
5. The appellant said that the above facts clearly pointed towards wrong doing and that it is in the overall interest of everyone including the bank, the family members and in public interest to know as to how was the self cheque encashed after the signatory had expired.
6. The appellant stated that the facts are clear and for the bank to deny the information in a technical way by citing section 8(1)(j) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. without any explanation shows the casual manner of the bank in dealing with the RTI application. The appellant said that the bank is covering up the cashing of a cheque which should not have been encashed.
7. The appellant stated that she is the daughter of the account holder and signatory of the cheque who had passed away due to cancer. The appellant stated that it was important to get to the truth of the matter because of the circumstances and it is in this light that she wanted information on the points mentioned in the RTI application.
8. The respondent bank should provide the information sought by the appellant taking into account the circumstances mentioned above and the inherent element of public interest.
Decision
9. The respondent is directed to provide information sought by the appellant in her RTI application within 30 days of this order. The appeal is disposed of. Copy of the decision be given free of cost to both the parties.
(Vijai Sharma)
Information Commission
Citation: Smt. Nilima Dwivedi v. United Commercial Bank in Decision No. CIC/VS/A/2013/000077/05554