After 7 days of receipt of application, it was marked to the Accountant to provide the information - the PIO proceeded on maternity leave and no action was taken by the Accountant – CIC: penalty of 25,000/- imposed on accountant for a delay of 6 months
4 Jan, 2014Facts:
1. Further to Commission’s order of even No., dated 18.9.2013, the former CPIO appeared for personal hearing. Ms. Rajni Gupta stated that the RTI application dated 28.5.2011 was received in her office on 13.6.2011. Accordingly, the file dealing with the RTI matter was marked on 13.6.2011 to the Assistant to put up the matter on the file. Meanwhile she was required to proceed on emergency maternity leave on 20.6.2011 up to 1.4.2012. As the CPIO had proceeded on emergency maternity leave, the file was sent on 20.6.2011 to the Accountant to provide the relevant information to the appellant. However, no action was taken by Shri Naresh Kuamr Sharma and after receiving the first appeal, a hunt for the file was launched and the file was traced in the almirah of the Accountant on 6.1.2012 following which the requested information was provided to the information seeker on 24.1.2012. The Accountant Shri Naresh Kumar Sharma submitted that the office of the Corporation was moved from Sector17 to Village Maloya near Sector39 and was designated as Resident Manager which was a 24x7 job. The assignment was critical as 12 children from ‘Snehalaya’ (Children’s Home) at Maloya had run away and a judicial inquiry was instituted in the matter. Appellant stated that the inquiry was against the previous Resident Manager and that after the initial crisis, the requested information could well have been provided to him. Appellant also showed proof of dispatch of his first appeal dated 26.9.2011and stated that FAA had taken no action on it and only after the receipt of the Commission’s order, hasty attempts was made to track the file which was traced from Shri Sharma’s cupboard on 6.1.2012 and the information was provided on 24.1.2012.
Decision Notice
2. After hearing both the parties, Commission accepts that there has been a lapse on the part of Shri Naresh Kumar Sharma who was the holder of the requested information and who should have provided the requested information to the appellant. The delay is of 7 months i.e. till 20 June, 2011 up to 24.1.2012 one month is allowed under the RTI Act = 6 months. Commission further allows the period of two months to the holder of information namely Shri Naresh Kumar Sharma for handling the difficult situation in Children’s Home when he was appointed Resident Manager as a special case. Balance delay is of 4 months (120 days x 250 = Rs. 30,000 restricted to a maximum of Rs. 25,000/). Amount will be deducted in 5 equal instalments @ Rs. 5,000/p. m. The Appellate Authority is directed to recover the amount of Rs. 25,000/from the salary of the CPIO Shri Naresh Kumar Sharma and remit the same by a demand draft Adjunct II Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2012/002068 or a Banker’s cheque in the name of the Pay & Accounts Officer, CAT, payable at New Delhi and send the same to Shri Pankaj K.P. Shreyaskar, Director and Joint Registrar of the Central Information Commission, 2nd Floor, August Kranti Bhawan, New Delhi110066. The amount may be deducted at the rate of Rs. 5000/per month every month from the salary of the CPIO and remitted by the 10th of every month starting from December, 2013. The total amount of Rs. 25,000/will be remitted by 10th of May, 2014.
(Smt. Deepak Sandhu)
Chief Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Kamal Kishore Monga v. Chandigarh Child & Women Dev. Corpn Ltd., in Adjunct II Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2012/002068