Action taken on appellant’s application dtd 7.04.11 was sought using RTI - PIO: application was not available in the office; on the basis of papers submitted by appellant with his 2nd appeal, information was provided - CIC: compensation of Rs.750 granted
7 Jul, 2014Information sought:
The appellant has sought the information related to the receiving of his application dated 07/04/2011. Grounds for the Second Appeal: The CPIO has not provided the desired information. Relevant Facts emerging during Hearing:
The following were present Appellant: Mr. Naeem Khan Shabbir Khan Pathan through VC Respondent: Mr. V T Nikam CPIO’s representative through VC
The CPIO’s representative stated that the appellant in his RTI application dated 24/07/2012 had sought action taken on his application dated 07/04/2011 and vide letter dated 07/08/2012 he was informed that his application has not been received and is not available in the office records, however, on the basis of the papers submitted by the appellant along with his 2nd appeal to the Commission the information has been collected; he handed over the document(s) to the appellant. The appellant after scrutiny accepted that the information has been supplied but pleaded that some compensation should be paid for the detriment and harassment caused to him due to the delay in providing the information.
Decision notice:
From the foregoing it is apparent that the appellant did not receive timely information. For the inconvenience caused to him, he deserves to be compensated. Therefore, in exercise of the powers vested in the CIC in Section 19(8)(b) In its decision, the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be, has the power to require the public authority to compensate the complainant for any loss or other detriment suffered; of the RTI Act we direct the department to compensate him by an amount of Rs.750/- for the inconvenience and detriment caused to him. Accordingly, the CPIO should ensure that this amount is remitted to the appellant by demand draft/pay order within 30 days from the date of receipt of this order. The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
BASANT SETH
Information Commissioner
Citation: Mr. Naeem Khan Shabbir Khan Pathan v. Department of Posts in File No. CIC/BS/A/2013/001053/5307