CIC: The issue raised by the Appellant remains unanswered due to non-availability of any material information in the records; Advisory u/s 25(5) issued to the Office of Insurance Ombudsman to look into such cases in larger public interest
5 Apr, 2024Information sought:
The Appellant filed an RTI application dated 01.02.2022 seeking the following information:
Loosely translated - Information about action for not taking adequate steps after receipt of the insurance application, Rules regarding the same; Information about action for not distributing the claim amount for group insurance; Action taken on complaint by Kamala Kumari Kochar and Devendra Kochar against SBI Life Insurance Co and Canara Bank; Information about Bima Lokpal, and many other information.
Having not received any response from the CPIO, the appellant filed a First Appeal dated 10.03.2022. The FAA order is not on record.
Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied, appellant approached the Commission with the instant Second Appeal.
Relevant Facts emerged during Hearing:
The following were present:-
Appellant: Absent
Respondent: Smt. Pratibha J. Sharma, CPIO & DS, attended the hearing.
The Appellant did not participate in the hearing despite being served the hearing notice in advance.
The Respondent submitted that their office has received one RTI dated 07.02.2022 containing 10 points and the contents of the instant RTI Application is similar to that RTI dated 07.02.2022. She added that since the information sought is not readily available in their office, accordingly a reply was given to Appellant vide letter dated 25.02.2022. She further submitted that First Appeal has been adjudicated by the First Appellate Authority vide order dated 18.04.2022.
Decision:
Perusal of the facts of the case at hand reveals that the matter was appropriately answered by the PIO on the basis of available records. The Appellant has chosen not to contest his case and in these circumstances, the Commission finds no further scope of intervention in the instant matter.
Be that as it may, the issue raised by the Appellant in the instant RTI Application remains unanswered due to non-availability of any material information in the records and since the office of Insurance Ombudsman is the appropriate authority for such kind of queries as raised by the Appellant in the instant RTI Application, an advisory under section 25(5) of the RTI Act is issued to the Respondent Public Authority to look into such cases in larger public interest so that the applicants are able to access relevant information in a timely manner, obviating the need to file RTI applications to obtain information on their respective applications.
The appeal is dismissed accordingly.
Vinod Kumar Tiwari
Information Commissioner
Citation: Devender Kumar Kocher v. O/o The Insurance Ombudsman Jaipur, File No : CIC/INSOJ/A/2022/126222; Date of Decision : 11-01-2024