CIC: Information has been sought from an organization to which the RTI Act does not apply - CIC: The information sought relates to the recruitment of the ST candidates, the disclosure of which would enhance transparency and credibility of the CRPF
29 Jan, 2018O R D E R
1. The appellant filed two identical second appeals in the case nos. CIC/CRPFO/A/2017/129853 & 181943, in respect of identical RTI applications both dated 25.07.2014. Both these appeals are being clubbed and disposed of by this order.
2. The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), O/o- DIG, Group Centre, Central Reserve Police force (CRPF), Sambo, Ranchi, seeking information pertaining to the Special Recruitment undertaken by the CRPF in the year 2013, including, inter alia, (i) the list of all the Schedule Tribe (ST) candidates who appeared in the medical test and (ii) the copies of the result of the medical test of all the ST candidates.
3. The appellant filed a second appeal before the Commission on the grounds that the information sought has been incorrectly denied on the basis that the CRPF has been exempted from the provisions of the RTI Act as per Section 24 (1) of the RTI Act, 2005. The appellant is also aggrieved with the Order of the First Appellate Authority (FAA) which had upheld the reply provided by the CPIO. The appellant requested the Commission to direct the CPIO to provide the information sought for by him.
Hearing:
4. The appellant, Shri Krishna Bari, and the respondent, Shri Pradipto Pradhan, Sub- Inspector (Ministerial), CRPF, Ranchi, participated in the hearing through video- conferencing.
5. The appellant submitted that the information sought by him has been wrongly denied on the grounds that the CRPF has been exempted from the provisions of the RTI Act as per Section 24(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: of the RTI Act. However, the information sought pertains to an examination conducted by CRPF. The appellant, therefore, requested the Commission to facilitate the disclosure of the information sought for by him.
6. The respondent submitted that vide the CPIO’s reply dated 06.08.2014, the appellant was informed that the CRPF has been declared an exempt organization under Section 24(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: read with the Second Schedule of the RTI Act, 2005. Further, the information sought by the appellant does not pertain to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations. The provisions of the RTI Act are, therefore, not applicable in this matter. In view of this, the information sought cannot be provided to the appellant. The respondent further submitted that the FAA vide its Order dated 16.08.2014 had upheld the reply provided by the CPIO.
Decision:
7. The Commission, after hearing the submissions of both the parties and perusing the records, observes that in this case information has been sought from an organization to which the RTI Act does not apply as per Section 24(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: of the RTI Act. Nonetheless, the Commission notes that the information sought relates to the recruitment of the ST candidates, the disclosure of which would enhance transparency and credibility of the respondent organisation. However, the information sought in point no. 5(b) of the RTI application pertains to the Medical Examination Report of all the ST candidates, which is a third party personal information. Hence, the same cannot be provided to the appellant. In view of this, the Commission directs the respondent to provide the following information to the appellant, within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this Order:
i. Number of total ST candidates who appeared for the Medical Examination;
ii. Number of ST candidates who were finally selected;
iii. Cut-off marks for the ST category candidates;
iv. Marks obtained by the appellant; and
v. A copy of the appellant’s Medical Examination Report.
8. With the above observations, both the appeals are disposed of.
9. Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
(Sudhir Bhargava)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Krishna Bari v. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Decision Nos. CIC/CRPFO/A/2017/129853 & CIC/CRPFO/A/2017/181943 dated 17.10.2017