Minutes of certain meetings of Bar Council of Delhi, source of its income & total amount received was sought - CIC: Such details should be given voluntarily as u/s 4(1)(b); show cause to PIO for penalty; Chairman to personally provide information
18 Nov, 2015Facts:
2. Appellant by his RTI application had sought for copies of all the minutes of all full house meeting of Bar Council of Delhi held during the period 01.04.2010 till date, source of income of bar council of Delhi and total amount received from different sources during the period 01.04.2010 till date etc. PIO replied on 01.04.2015 giving Para wise reply. Being unsatisfied, appellant filed first appeal and thereafter, approached Commission.
DECISION:
3. Both parties made their submissions. Having heard the submissions and perused the record, the Commission observes that the details asked by the appellant are to be given on the public domain voluntarily as per Section 4(1)(b) Every public authority shall publish within one hundred and twenty days from the enactment of this Act,- (i) the particulars of its organisation, functions and duties; (ii) the powers and duties of its officers and employees; (iii) the procedure followed in the decision making process, including channels of supervision and accountability; (iv) the norms set by it for the discharge of its functions; (v) the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records, held by it or under its control or used by its employees for discharging its functions; (vi) a statement of the categories of documents that are held by it or under its control; (vii) the particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation with, or representation by, the members of the public in relation to the formulation of its policy or implementation thereof; (viii) a statement of the boards, councils, committees and other bodies consisting of two or more persons constituted as its part or for the purpose of its advice, and as to whether meetings of those boards, councils, committees and other bodies are open to the public, or the minutes of such meetings are accessible for public; (ix) a directory of its officers and employees; (x) the monthly remuneration received by each of its officers and employees, including the system of compensation as provided in its regulations; (xi) the budget allocated to each of its agency, indicating the particulars of all plans, proposed expenditures and reports on disbursements made; (xii) the manner of execution of subsidy programmes, including the amounts allocated and the details of beneficiaries of such programmes; (xiii) particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations granted by it; (xiv) details in respect of the information, available to or held by it, reduced in an electronic form; (xv) the particulars of facilities available to citizens for obtaining information, including the working hours of a library or reading room, if maintained for public use; (xvi) the names, designations and other particulars of the Public Information Officers; (xvii) such other information as may be prescribed and thereafter update these publications every year; of the RTI Act. These details are not supplied in spite of a request from an RTI applicant. The Commission, therefore, directs the PIO/deemed PIO to show cause why penalty should not be imposed on him for denying the information. His explanation should reach the Commission within 21 days from the date of receipt of this order. The Commission further directs the Chairman of the Bar Council of Delhi to personally take responsibility of providing the information to the appellant sought in her application within 15 days from the date of receipt of this order.
4. The Commission orders accordingly.
(M. Sridhar Acharyulu)
Information Commissioner
Citation: K.R.Chitra v. Bar Council of Delhi in Case No. CIC/SA/A/2015/000794