Change of jurisdiction over the information should be informed to the RTI applicant

Background

An application under Right to Information (RTI) Act was filed to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on 11 March 2010 seeking information regarding date of de-sealing and proposed demolition of a particular property. On that date, the said property was located within the area under the jurisdiction of DDA and the Public Information Officer (PIO) provided the information accordingly on 27 April 2010. The land area was transferred to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) vide a notification dated on 4 June 2010. However, information was provided to the appellant by the First Appellate Authority (FAA) and also through 10 letters over the period from 11 August 2010 to 29 February 2012 without ever mentioning the said notification or informing the appellant that the DDA no longer had any jurisdiction over the land area which was the subject matter of the RTI application.

Proceedings

The Central Information Commission (CIC) observed that the appellant has been put to a loss of two years during which he could have taken up the matter with the MCD and also that she has faced physical and mental harassment as well as financial loss. The Commission issued a show-cause notice to the PIO vide order dated 17 April 2012 to show-cause why compensation should not be awarded to the appellant.

View of CIC

The Commission stated that the respondent cannot dismiss the matter with the argument that they did not have knowledge of this notification. Under 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, the Commission awarded a compensation of Rs. 3000/- to the appellant.

Citation: Smt. Laxmi Aggarwal v. DDA in Adjunct to Appeal No. CIC/DS/A/2011/000628