Contact details of the office where the work undertaken by the Property Dealers is registered
22 May, 2013Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Department of Industries seeking the name and contact details of the government office wherein the work that has been undertaken by the Property Dealers is being registered. The RTI application was transferred to PIO, Firms & Societies and also to the ADM HQ O/o the Divisional Commissioner, Delhi. The Public Information Officer (PIO), Firms & Societies stated that the information sought in the RTI application does not pertain to the Firms & Societies office and hence no such information is available in the office. The appellant filed a complaint with the Central Information Commission (CIC) stating that the PIO, Firms & Societies has not given the details of the First Appellate Authority (FAA) because of which he could not file the first appeal.
View of CIC
The Commission observed that the appellant is not seeking any information but has grievance that the PIO has failed to provide details of the FAA. The Commission held that not providing details of the FAA by the PIO in his reply would be construed as violation of the provisions under section 7(3)(b) of the RTI Act. The CIC warned the PIO to be more careful while responding to RTI applications. The Commission also noted that no information is available for authorization for disclosure.
Comments
It may happen that the RTI applicant is not satisfied with the information provided by the PIO even though the PIO might have provided all the available information. Therefore, a PIO should always provide the details of the FAA irrespective of whether the information is provided or not.
Citation: Mr. Ravi Kohli v. Department of Industries and Dy. Commissioner Firm & Societies Section in File No: CIC/AD/C/2012/001716
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1296
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission