Seeking value of kharif crop harvested for a particular time and insurance premium paid
6 Jul, 2013Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Samastipur Kshetriya Gramin Bank (SKGB) seeking certain information regarding the months during which kharif crop was harvested. He wanted to know the total value of kharif crop harvested, the details of insurance company and amount of premium paid etc. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information under section 8(1)(g) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes; of the RTI Act.
Proceedings
During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the appellant submitted that the information was required in context of a matter pending in the Consumer Forum. He stated that he took a KCC loan from the bank and he was seeking information pertaining to his account. He argued that the provisions cited by the respondent for denial of information were not relevant. The respondent stated that the information sought by the appellant was already discussed in a case filed by the appellant before the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum. The respondent added that the Consumer Forum had passed an order directing the respondent to pay compensation to the appellant. The respondent also stated that an appeal had been filed before the State Commission and the case is pending before the State Commission and the matter is sub-judice.
View of CIC
The Commission observed that the section cited by the respondent to deny the information sought by the appellant has no relevance. There is no sufficient reason to deny information to the appellant taking into account that the appellant needed the information for the consumer dispute redressal matter. The CIC directed the respondent to provide the information sought in the RTI application.
Citation: Mr. Ranjeet Kumar Choudhary v. Samastipur Kshetriya Gramin Bank in Decision No. CIC/VS/A/2012/000639/03531
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1429
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