Copies of written approval obtained for an eviction order issued to the Appellant were sought - CIC: Provide the photocopies of all approvals & file notings; If no approval of Board of Directors was obtained, state so in writing to Appellant
9 Mar, 2016Attested photocopies of written approval, with reference to the relevant guidelines, obtained for an eviction order issued to the Appellant were sought - CIC: PIO to provide the certified photocopies of all approvals and file notings etc., on the records of the public authority, leading to issuance of eviction notice to the Appellant; If no approval of the Board of Directors was obtained, he should state so in writing to the Appellant
Facts
This matter pertains to an RTI application dated 23.5.2013 filed by the Appellant, seeking attested photocopies of written approval, with reference to the relevant guidelines, obtained for an eviction order issued to him. The CPIO responded on 10.6.2013 and stated that action for eviction was taken by the Estate Officer under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 and that all communications in this regard were sent regularly to the Appellant. Not satisfied with the reply of the CPIO, the Appellant filed an appeal to the First Appellate Authority on 27.6.2013. In his order dated 15.7.2013, the FAA stated that since no approval was required from Director (HR), CMD and Board of Directors for evicting the Appellant, the question of providing the scanned copies of written approval from the above authorities did not arise. The Appellant filed second appeal dated 9.4.2014 to the CIC.
2. The Appellant, who is an ex-employee of the public authority, stated that the reply given by the Respondents was wrong and misleading and he needs correct information to take action against the Respondents in regard to the eviction order which, he claimed, was issued wrongly. In this connection, he drew our attention to guideline 2 (IV) of the Guidelines to Prevent Arbitrary Use of Powers to Evict Genuine Tenants from public premises, which requires the matter to be decided at the level of Board of Directors of PSUs. In response to our query, the Appellant stated that he was not interested in inspecting the relevant records at the office of the Respondents, but would like them to provide him copies of all the approvals and documents in connection with the eviction order issued to him.
3. Taking into account the submissions made before us, we direct the CPIO to provide to the Appellant certified photocopies of all approvals and file notings etc., on the records of the public authority, leading to issuance of eviction notice to the Appellant. The CPIO should provide a copy of approval of the Board of Directors, if it was obtained. If such approval was not obtained, he should state so in writing to the Appellant. The above information should be provided to the Appellant free of cost, within fifteen days of the receipt of this order, under intimation to the Commission.
4. With the above directions and observations, the appeal is disposed of.
5. Copies of this order be given free of cost to the parties.
(Sharat Sabharwal)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri B. P. Gupta v. GAIL (India) Limited in File No. CIC/SH/A/2014/000410