From when did ISP start printing non- judicial stamp paper of denomination of Rupee 1 (One) for the State of Haryana and the slogan ’SATYAMEV JAYATE’ was printed below the National Emblem on it? - CIC: Denial of information u/s 8(1)(a) & 8(1)(e) upheld
16 Jun, 2021Information Sought:
The Appellant has sought the following information:
1. From which financial year did lSP start printing non- judicial stamp paper of denomination of Rupee 1 (One) for the State of Haryana.
2. From which date did lSP start printing the slogan ’SATYAMEV JAYATE’ below the National Emblem on non-judicial stamp paper of rupee one for the State of Haryana.
Grounds for Second Appeal
The CPIO denied the information under Sec. 8(1)(a) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence; and (e) of the RTI Act 2005.
Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing:
The appellant submitted that he is not satisfied with the reply of the CPIO as he had sought very general information which was not provided to him.
The CPIO submitted that an appropriate reply was given to the appellant on 24.11.2018. He also reiterated the contents of his written submissions dated 15.04.2021
Observations:
From a perusal of the relevant case records, it is noted that a suitable reply was given to the appellant on 24.11.2018 and the written submissions of the CPIO are also detailed wherein it was clearly stated that the requested information sought is secret & from security point of view, cannot be provided to any individual person as per Section 8(1)(a) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence; & (e) of the RTI Act. However, ISP can provide this information only to Govt. investigating agencies and Hon’ble Court where the document/stamp is under dispute. Information to these Govt. agencies is given only after scientific examination of original document / stamp which is received from these Govt. investigating agencies and honourable courts. The Commission does not find any flaw in the said reply, hence no further relief can be given to the appellant.
Decision:
In view of the above, the Commission upholds the reply of the CPIO and does not find any scope for further intervention in the matter
The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
Vanaja N. Sarna
Information Commissioner
Citation: Mayank Singhal v. India Security Press (ISP) in File No.: - CIC/ISPNR/A/2019/122914, Date of Decision: 23/04/2021