Appellant: some bogus letters were sent by a miscreant using fake seal of NEPZ NOIDA post office - Appellant questioned how the records for Oct 2007 could be weeded out on 04/09/2007 - CIC asked the FAA to enquire into the matter & submit a report
13 Feb, 2015Appellant: some bogus letters were sent by a miscreant using fake seal of NEPZ NOIDA post office & the postal dept initially admitted that the stamp/seal affixed on the letters were fake but later retracted their statement stating that the stamp/seal are genuine - Appellant questioned how the records for October 2007 could be weeded out on 04/09/2007 when they were not even in existence - CIC asked the FAA to enquire into the matter and provide a copy of the report to the appellant
Information sought:-
The appellant has sought the following information related to NEPZ PO, Noida:-
1. Provide the copy of reply given by the then Dy. Post Master NEPZ Noida to SPO, Ghaziabad w.r.t. to letter no. 40 dated 11/02/2011.
2. If yes, provide the certified copy of the answer.
3. Whether the complete record for the period April 2009 to Mar 2011 has been weeded out?
4. If yes, In whose presence and on which date the record was weeded out?
5. Provide the copy of the destroy register related to the weeding out of the said record.
6. Provide the information after collecting it from Gzb. Division as said division is not replying since 10 months.
Grounds for the Complaint: The CPIO has not provided the desired information.
Relevant Facts emerging during Hearing: The following were present
Complainant: Mr. Harish Kotnala Respondent: Mr. Sanjay Kumar CPIO’s representative
The appellant stated that the information sought in both the appeals is interrelated and requested that they may be disposed of by a common order. The appellant stated that some bogus letters were sent by a miscreant using fake stamp/seal of NEPZ NOIDA post office and the respondents initially admitted that the stamp/seal affixed on the letters were fake but later retracted their statement stating that the stamp/seal are genuine. He produced photocopy of weeding out register which showed that the records for the period April 2006 to October 2007 were apparently weeded out on 04/09/2007. He questioned how the records for October 2007 could be weeded out on 04/09/2007 when they were not even in existence. He claimed that bogus records have been created by Shri S P Mishra Post Master NEPZ SO to help the miscreant. The CPIO’s representative admitted that initially they had confirmed that the stamp/seal affixed on the letters were fake. The appellant pleaded that the FAA/DPS should be requested to enquire into the matter and a copy of the report may be provided to him. The CPIO’s representative agreed.
Decision notice: The FAA/DPS is requested to enquire into the matter and provide a copy of the report to the appellant. While conducting the enquiry the FAA should go through all relevant documents and also give a hearing to the appellant. A copy of the FAA’s report should be sent to the Commission at the earliest and in any case within 45 days from the date of receipt of this order. The appeals are disposed of accordingly.
BASANT SETH
Information Commissioner
Citation: Mr. Harish Kotnala v. Department of Posts in File No. CIC/BS/A/2013/003092+003103/6456