Copies of orders regarding establishment and jurisdiction of all special courts/ CBI courts at Jaipur for trial of PC Act cases were not available with them - CIC: RTI application was not replied in a comprehensive manner; Provide a revised reply
3 Jul, 2024
O R D E R
1. The Appellant filed an RTI application dated 10.08.2022 seeking information on the following points:
(i) Please provide me certified copies of notification issued by the Central Government for appointing special judges for special courts/ CBI Court established in accordance with section ¾ of prevention of corruption Act,1988 situated at Jaipur (Rajasthan).
(ii) Please provide me certified copies of orders/notifications issued by Central Government regarding establishment and jurisdiction of all special courts/ CBI courts situated at Jaipur (Rajasthan) for trial of cases related to PC Act.
2. The CPIO replied vide letter dated 29.08.2022 and the same is reproduced as under :-
(i) It is informed that no such information is available with this CPIO.
(ii) It is informed that the requested information is not available with this CPIO in complied form and retrieval of the information may go through all the files related to the subject matter which will disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority and therefore attract the provision of Section 7(9) An information shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or would be detrimental to the safety or preservation of the record in question. of RTI Act, 2005.
(iii) However, a copy each of your RTI application is being forwarded to CBI under section 6(3) of RTI Act, 2005 for providing information, if any.
3. Dissatisfied with the response received from the CPIO, the Appellant filed a First Appeal dated 15.12.2022 alleging that the information provided was incomplete, false and misleading. The FAA vide order dated 02.01.2023 upheld the reply given by the CPIO.
4. Aggrieved with the FAA’s order, the Appellant approached the Commission with the instant Second Appeal dated 13.04.2023.
5. The appellant attended the hearing through video conference and on behalf of the respondent Mr. Kundan Nath, Under Secretary, Mr. Bilbir Jain, S.P and Mr. Raman Kumar Shukla, Inspector, attended the hearing in person.
6. The appellant inter alia submitted that the reply which had been furnished was not in accordance with the information sought in the RTI application.
7. The respondent while defending their case inter alia submitted that a response to the RTI application in accordance with the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005, had already been furnished to the appellant vide their letter dated 29.08.2022. He further submitted that their role was only to give approval to the proposal sent by State government for establishment of special courts and after the approval from the Central Government, the State government issues a notification regarding the establishment of the courts. Thus, the records sought regarding copies of orders/notifications regarding establishment and jurisdiction of all special courts/CBI courts situated at Jaipur (Rajasthan) for trial of cases related to PC Act, were not available with them. He stated that it might be available on the State Government website.
8. The Commission after adverting to the facts and circumstances of the case, hearing both parties and perusal of records, observes that the RTI application was not replied in a comprehensive manner. Therefore, the Commission directs the respondent to provide a revised reply on the basis of submission given during the course of hearing to the appellant within 10 days from the date of the receipt of this order, under intimation to the Commission. With these observations and directions, the appeal is disposed of.
Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
Sd/-
ANANDI RAMALINGAM
Information Commissioner
Citation: Ram Swaroop v. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions & CBI, CIC/DOP&t/A/2023/117104; Date of Decision: 15.03.2024