Status of pensioners drawing maximum pension under the 6th pay commission
5 May, 2013Background
The appellant referred to a particular letter the reply of which was sent by the Accountant General (AG) to the Finance Department of the State Government. He filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the AG seeking copy of the reply and whether AG had consulted the Ministry of PG and Pensions before replying to the State Government. He also wanted to know if the pensioners drawing the maximum pension under the 5th pay commission would continue to draw the maximum pension under the 6th pay commission. The Public Information Officer (PIO) provided him with a copy of the letter they had sent in response to the communication from the State Government. He also clarified that they had not consulted the Ministry of PG and Pensions. The PIO further stated that they had no information regarding the entitlement of the pension.
Proceedings
During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the appellant demanded that the reply given by the AG to the Principal Secretary, Finance should be revised because it did not disclose that the maximum pensioners under the previous pay commission had been granted maximum pension under the 6th pay commission also. The respondent pointed out that they can only provide the information which existed in material form and cannot invent some new information just because the appellant wanted it. The respondent also stated that the reply given by the AG to the Principal Secretary, Finance and State Government of Kerala had no other record to support the demand of the appellant.
View of CIC
The Commission observed that the PIO had provided a copy of the letter and if the appellant finds that the contents of that letter are incorrect then he can challenge it in any other appropriate forum like a court of law. The CIC rejected the appeal holding that the appellant cannot expect the PIO or the public authority to revise or modify an existing piece of information in order to suit his requirement, under the RTI Act.
Citation: Mr. Thomas Stephen v. the Accountant General (A&E) in File No.CIC/SM/A/2012/001434
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1256
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission