Can the RTI appellant raise fresh request for information at second appeal stage?
28 Mar, 2013Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) seeking copy of reply to his notice and the conclusion of examination as mentioned in reply. He also wanted to know whether the facts mentioned in sanction order of prosecution were verified by the Department and the details of material which was available before the Ministry. The Public Information Officer (PIO) provided a copy of communication in response to his notice which also included the conclusion of examination. Regarding the second query, the PIO held that the information desired does not fall under the definition of information as per section 2(f) “information” means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force; “information” means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force; and 2(j) “right to information” means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to- (i) inspection of work, documents, records; (ii) taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records; (iii) taking certified samples of material; (iv) obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device; of the RTI Act. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) also observed that the appellant’s right extends only to seeking information as defined in section 2(f) “information” means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force; “information” means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force; of the RTI Act.
View of CIC
The Central Information Commission (CIC) observed that requisite documents have been provided to the appellant. Regarding the second query, the Commission upheld the reply of the FAA. The CIC noted that the appellant had raised new queries for documents in his appeal filed before the Commission which cannot be dealt with as the appellant is not supposed to raise fresh request for information at appeal stage.
Citation: Mr. Devendra Kumar Meena v. Ministry of Corporate Affairs in Case No. CIC/SS/A/2012/002902
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1156
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission