Copy of FIR and charge sheet in a trap case of CBI sought by the accused – refused as CBI is a part of the second schedule to the RTI Act - prosecution pending before the trial court - the desired documents were part of judicial records – denial upheld
31 Jul, 20131. In his RTI application, the complainant had referred to a trap laid by the CBI in which a Territorial Manager of the Bharat Petroleum had been caught receiving some bribe. He had wanted the copy of the FIR and the chargesheet filed in this case. The CPIO had refused to disclose any such information on the ground that the CBI had since been included in the second schedule to the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Instead of filing an appeal before the first Appellate Authority, the complainant chose to approach the CIC in this complaint.
2. During the hearing, the complainant submitted that he needed these documents urgently and should be provided the same. On the other hand, the respondent informed us that the prosecution in this case was now pending before the trial court and the desired documents were now part of the judicial records of that court. He submitted that the CPIO could not provide the copies of these documents without seeking the prior permission of the trial court.
3. In any case, in terms of the decision of the Supreme Court in the CIC Manipur case, it is no longer possible for us to direct the CPIO to disclose any information in a complaint case. We do not find anything wrong in the response of the CPIO and, therefore, we find no reason to take any action against him either.
(Satyananda Mishra)
Chief Information Commissioner
Citation: Mr. Omprakash v. Central Bureau of Investigation in File No. CIC/SM/C/2012/001167