Disciplinary proceedings against the officer who directed wrong officers to appear for hearing
2 May, 2013Background
The Central Information Commission (CIC) issued show cause notice to the PIO, Geological Survey of India (GSI) who failed to respond to the RTI request and did not provide information within the stipulated period. Senior Administrative Officer and Administrative Officer appeared before the CIC and submitted that they had received an RTI application dated 31.08.2012 from the nodal officer of the RTI Cell and had provided some information against that RTI application. The same appellant had also filed an RTI application dated 29.05.2012. The nodal officer of the RTI Cell had transferred that application to the Administrative Officer Grade II for replying to the information seeker directly and to provide the information. During the hearing before the CIC, the appellant alleged that he has not received any information against this application. The Commission directed the PIO to forward the order to the officers responsible for this information as the officers who had dealt with the RTI application dated 29.05.2012 should have appeared for the show cause hearing but the officers who attended the hearing had no idea about that particular RTI application.
View of CIC
The Commission observed that these officers were in no position to show cause why no information had been given against the RTI application dated 29.05.2012 and again issued a show cause notice to the officers responsible for not providing the information against that particular RTI application. The CIC held that the PIO had behaved irresponsibly and deputed the officers to come all the way to New Delhi from Kolkata at considerable expense to the government to appear in a matter with which they have no relation. The CIC held that the cost of travel of these two officers must be recovered from the PIO concerned. The Commission directed the Director General of the GSI to institute disciplinary proceedings against the officer on account of whose irresponsible direction the above two officers had to travel all the way from Shillong and Kolkata respectively by air thereby causing considerable financial loss to the government.
Citation: Mr. Surajit Das v. Geological Survey of India in File No.CIC/SM/A/2012/001562
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1249
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission