Appellant alleged that his father was terminated after he died & the same is illegal - Respondent: reply could not be given due to non-availability of documents - CIC: FAA to institute an enquiry to trace the missing files & submit an action taken report
25 Oct, 2014Information sought: The appellant has sought information regarding his request for appointment on compassionate grounds after his father’s death on 04.01.1993.
Relevant facts emerging during hearing:
Both parties are present. The appellant has filed two RTI applications dated 30.12.2012 seeking the above information. The PIO vide letter dt. 18.01.2013 forwarded the RTI application to PIO/Eastern Washery Zone seeking assistance in providing information to the appellant. On not receiving any reply from the PIO within prescribed time, appellant filed first appeal. The FAA did not dispose of the appeal.
The appellant stated that the information sought relates to his request for appointment on compassionate grounds after his father’s death, after the latter was terminated from service due to being medically unfit. He stated that he applied the public authority for the same and wanted to know the status. He stated that no positive response has been received by him from the respondent public authority. The appellant alleged that his father was terminated after his death, i.e. he was terminated in back date and that the same is illegal.
The respondent stated that a reply could not be given to the appellant due to non-availability of documents regarding employment to the dependent of Late K.P. Singh. The respondent stated that the same was intimated to the appellant by the FAA in his order dt. 18.07.2013. He further, submitted that the appellant was informed that information sought is more than 20 years old and documents for the same cannot be traced. However, a note-sheet in the concerned file has been traced and from the perusal of the same, it is found out that appellant’s father was terminated due to medically unfit. The respondent stated that in 1992, there was no provision for providing employment to a dependent of terminated employee who was medically unfit. Only after an agreement between the Union and the management, in December, 1993, it was decided that appointment to dependent of medically unfit terminated employees, shall be given on compassionate grounds. Since the appellant’s case was before the said period, his case for employment was not considered. The respondent urged that the appellant has already been intimated of the said facts.
Decision:
After hearing the parties and on perusal of documents, the Commission finds that the appellant was not informed about the status of his application as the period for which the information is sought is more than 20 years old. The Commission, here, is of the view that the same should have been intimated to the appellant to that effect. As for the concerned records that are not available, the Commission directs Dy.GM/FAA to institute an enquiry to trace the missing/untraceable files and an action taken report of the same be submitted to the Commission, within four weeks of receipt of this order. A copy of the same shall also be endorsed to the appellant.
If concerned documents are not traced, then an affidavit to that effect shall be filed before the Commission, along with the enquiry report. If the concerned documents are traced out, then complete information shall be provided by the PIO to the appellant, as per his RTI application dt. 30.12.2012, within two weeks of tracing out files, under intimation to the Commission. Further, the Commission directs the PIO to provide the copy of the note-sheet available with the respondent authority, vide which it is found that appellant’s father was terminated due to being medically unfit, to the appellant within two weeks of receipt of this order, under intimation to the Commission. The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
(Yashovardhan Azad)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Manoj Kumar Pandey v. Bharat Cooking Coal Ltd in F.No.CIC/SS/A/2013/001569-Y