Are the OMs issued by the MHA in 1958 and 1970 still valid?
24 Feb, 2013Background
The appellant cited two Office Memorandums (OMs) issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 1958 and 1970 respectively, and wanted to know through his application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act filed with the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) if these OMs were still valid. He also wanted to know that whether the case of a government servant who resigned from one government job and joined another government job would be dealt with under Rule 5(f) of the CCS Temporary Service Rules, 1965. The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed him that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) circulars were very old and thus not available in the Department. The PIO also forwarded a copy of the CCS Temporary Service Rules, 1965 to the appellant.
Proceedings
During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the respondent submitted that the MHA circulars cited by the appellant were no longer in use and instead the CCS Temporary Service Rules 1965 were valid at present. He also stated that the copy of it had already been provided to the appellant.
View of CIC
The Commission rejected the appeal stating that the MHA circulars of 1958 and 1970 are no longer available or in use and the PIO cannot be expected to validate those.
Comments
A system can be evolved to ensure that the OMs issued from time to time are either re-validated or rescinded. This would keep the working healthy and avoid confusion in work.
Citation: Mr. Anil Kumar Sidharth v. Department of Personnel & Training in File No. CIC/SM/A/2012/001030
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1072
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission