CIC: For point no. 3, the appellant was asked to get the information from DG NCC; If this information was not available, the PIO should have transferred this point to the holder of the information or could have sought assistance from them as per RTI Act
20 Apr, 2021Information Sought:
The appellant has sought the following information:
1. With reference to the temporary duty/movement of soldier or an officer for official purpose:
(a)Total number of officers, who were called on temporary duties to the Directorate located at Bengaluru for the period from Dec, 2017 to Dec, 2018, as per the format given in the RTI application.
(b) Number of times Dy. DG went on temporary duties to the places within Karnataka and Goa as per the format given in the RTI application.
2. With reference to the premises occupied by NCC units –
(a) Number of units which have been provided Govt. accommodation for the Office by the State/ District Administration (place wise).
(b)Number of units which have been provided accommodation by the School / College.
(c) to (e) - other related information.
3. And other related information.
Grounds for Second Appeal
The CPIO did not provide the requisite information.
Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing:
The notice of hearing sent to the appellant vide speed post no. ED738861817IN dated 26.02.2021 was returned with the remarks “Addressee left without instructions”. The appellant too has not made any effort to send any written communication to the Commission updating his address in case he has changed the same. In view of this, the Commission is not in a position to send any further intimation to the complainant for want of an alternate correspondence address in the records. In the interest of justice, the case is being decided on merits.
The CPIO was also not present and no reasons for their absence was sent to the Commission.
Observations:
The Commission takes grave exception to the absence of the CPIO, NCC Dte for the hearing without intimating any reasons despite the fact that the hearing notice was duly sent through speed post vide acknowledgment no. ED738861825IN on 26.02.2021.
From a perusal of the relevant case records, it is noted that a suitable pointwise reply was given to the appellant on 24.01.2019 except for point no. 3,for which the appellant was asked to get the information from DGNCC. It should be noted by the CPIO that if this information was not available with them, he should have transferred this point to the holder of the information or could have sought assistance from them as per the provisions of the RTI Act. Since it was not done at the relevant time, the CPIO is directed to collect the same from its holder and provide it to the appellant.
Decision:
In view of the above, the CPIO is directed to provide the desired information to the appellant on point no. 3 after collecting the same from its holder. This direction is to be complied with within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of this order under intimation to the Commission.
Further, the present CPIO is issued a strict warning for remaining absent during the hearing without any intimation to the Commission. The CPIO, NCC Dte is advised to henceforth seek prior permission of the Commission before absenting himself and in case such a lapse is repeated in future, the Commission will be constrained to take strict action against him.
The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
Vanaja N. Sarna
Information Commissioner
Citation: VM Naik v. NCC Dte in File no.: - CIC/DGNCC/A/2019/116861, Date of Decision: 17/03/2021