Information pertaining an IPS officer was denied by MHA on the ground that the same is not maintained by it - CIC: Transfer the RTI application to the Chief Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand for further necessary action u/s 6(3) of the RTI Act
7 Mar, 2017ORDER
1. Shri Nilesh G. Prabhu filed an application dated 12.08.2015 under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) seeking information on four points pertaining to Shri Asok Kumar, IPS (1989-UK).
2. Shri Nilesh G. Prabhu filed a second appeal dated 03.05.2016 on the grounds that the CPIO did not provide the information sought by him on the plea that the information is not maintained by Police-I Division of MHA and that the FAA too upheld the decision of the CPIO. The appellant requested the Commission to direct the CPIO to provide the information to him, impose penalty on the CPIO, award adequate compensation to him and order disciplinary action against both the CPIO and FAA.
Hearing:
3. The appellant Shri Nilesh G. Prabhu attended the hearing through video conferencing. The respondent Shri Mukesh Sawhney, Under Secretary, MHA was present in person.
4. The appellant submitted that he had sought certain information regarding an IPS officer, Shri Ashok Kumar. However, information sought has been incorrectly denied on the ground that the same is not maintained by MHA. However, even if the information is not maintained by MHA, the RTI application should have been transferred to the Public Authority concerned under Section 6(3) of the RTI Act.
5. The respondent submitted that the appellant was informed vide letter dated 24.08.2015 that information sought is not maintained by the Police-I Division. The respondent further submitted that since the officer concerned is from the Uttarakhand Cadre, therefore, information sought would be available with the State Government of Uttarakhand.
Decision:
6. The Commission, after hearing the submissions of both the parties and perusing the records, observes that since the information sought is held by the State Government concerned, the RTI application should have been transferred to the Public Authority concerned. In view of this, the Commission directs the respondent to transfer the RTI application of the appellant to the Chief Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand for further necessary action. The direction shall be complied with within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
7. With the above observations, the appeal is disposed of.
8. Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
(Sudhir Bhargava)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Nilesh G. Prabhu v. Ministry of Home Affairs in Decision No. CIC/SB/A/2016/000745 Dated 01.03.2017