Information relating to the Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme
8 Jul, 2012Background
The appellant sought some information relating to the Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACPS) and the merger of scales. The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed the appellant that it was not his responsibility to provide any opinion or interpretation on hypothetical matters such as those raised by the appellant in her RTI application. He also advised the appellant to refer to the instructions contained in the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) Office Memorandum (OM). During the hearing, the respondent further clarified that the OM on this scheme was quite clear and covered the very same query raised by the appellant in her RTI application. The OM shows that the promotion between the scales mentioned by the appellant would be ignored for determining the eligibility for the MACPS.
View of CIC
The Central Information Commission (CIC) directed the PIO to send a copy of the OM, duly highlighting the relevant instructions to the appellant.
Comments
The PIO could have argued that the information is already in the public domain and hence there is no need for him to provide the copy of the same to an applicant. Under the RTI Act, it is not the duty of the PIO to provide the copy of information which is already in public domain.
Citation: Mrs. Sharmila Chowdhury v. Department of Personnel & Training, in File No.CIC/SM/A/2011/001882
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/471
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission