PIO - Appellant has expressed his grievance and has indirectly challenged the decision of DPC whic was carried out in an unbiased manner; appellant had merely raised his allegations beyond the ambit of Section 2 (f) of the RTI Act - CIC: Reply upheld
26 Oct, 2024O R D E R
1. The Appellant filed an RTI application dated 25.01.2023 seeking information on the following points:-
(i) Please provide information whether the Management implementing the directives and conditions issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs vide Office Memorandum No. 39/40/74-(SCT) (1) dated 30-9-1974 in the matter of Recruitments in favour of Scheduled Castes/Tribes in the Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam under the Administrative Control of the Ministry of Defence.
(ii) Please provide information whether the Management implementing the directives and conditions issued by the Government of India, Department of Personnel & Trg vide Office Memorandum No. 36012/17/88/-Estt(SCT) dated 25-4-1989 in the matter of Promotions in favour of Scheduled Castes/Tribes in the Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam under the Administrative Control of the Ministry of Defence.
(iii) Please provide information whether the Management implementing the directives and conditions issued by the Government of India, Department of Personnel & Trg vide Office Memorandum No. 35035/7/97/-Estt (SCT) dated 15-2-2005 in the matter of DPC Guidelines-No supersession in promotions in favour of Scheduled Castes/Tribes in the Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam under the Administrative Control of the Ministry of Defence
(iv) Please provide information whether the Management (HR Department) has circulated current SENORITY Lists of cadre of the Managers (E-3) grade during the DPC year 2020, 2021 and 2022 before the select lists are prepared by the DPC members to effect the promotions from Managers(E-3) grade to the grade of Senior Managers (E-S) by the DPC.
(v) Please provide information whether the Management (HR Department) implementing the directives and conditions issued by the Government of India, Department of Personnel & Trg vide Office Memorandum No. 35012/2/96- Estt(SCT) dated 2-7-1997 (Annexure-iii) in the matter of maintaining the POST BASED ROSTER SYSTEM for the post of Senior Manager (E-4) grade to effect recruitment and Promotions in the Engineering Complex Department in the Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam under the Administrative Control of the Ministry of Defence. …etc.
2. The CPIO replied vide letter dated 23.04.2023 and the same is reproduced as under:-
“Point (i) & (iv) – Yes.
Point (ii) & (iii) – Implemented.
Point (v) – Since, Post based reservation maintained for all posts including senior manager post division/department wise post-based reservation is not required separately.” …etc.
3. Dissatisfied with the response received from the CPIO, the Appellant filed a First Appeal dated 15.07.2023 alleging that the information provided was incomplete, false and misleading. The FAA’s order dated 13.09.2023 upheld the reply of CPIO.
4. Aggrieved with the FAA’s order, the Appellant approached the Commission with the instant Second Appeal dated 09.10.2023.
5. The appellant remained absent and on behalf of the respondent Shri J.P. Gupta, CPIO, attended the hearing through video conference.
6. The respondent while defending their case inter alia submitted that the appellant has expressed his grievance through the RTI application and has indirectly challenged the decision of Departmental Proceeding Committee held for another charged official. The CPIO submitted that he had been a part of DPC decision and the entire process was carried out in an unbiased manner. Besides, the appellant had merely raised his allegations and raised queries in the nature of seeking confirmation/clarification which was beyond the ambit of Section 2 (f) of the RTI Act.
7. The Commission after adverting to the facts and circumstances of the case, hearing the respondent and perusal of records, observes that the CPIO has provided an appropriate reply to the RTI Application as per the provisions of the RTI Act. Further, in the absence of the Appellant to plead his case or contest the CPIO’s submissions, the Commission finds no scope of intervention in the matter. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.
Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
Sd/-
ANANDI RAMALINGAM
Information Commissioner
Citation: Gompa Raja Rao v. Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam, CIC/HINSL/A/2023/142349; Date of Decision: 05.09.2024