Details of license fee and penalty were denied claiming that it pertains to a third party - CIC: Revisit the RTI application and provide a suitable reply properly amplifying the applicability of the particular denial clause under the provisions of the Act
7 Sep, 2022Information Sought:
The Appellant has sought the following information regarding P.O No. 427008553 dated 08/08/2019 for the period from 26/08/2019 to 30/11/2020:
- Provide details of amount of license fee and penalty, if any, received from the contractor per month for the above stated period. Whether any concession in license fee has been given to the contractor during the Covid-19 pandemic period?
Grounds for Second Appeal
The CPIO did not provide the desired information.
Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing:
The appellant’s representative submitted that he is not satisfied with the reply of the CPIO. The CPIO submitted that a suitable reply was provided vide letter dated 26.03.2021.
Observations:
Based on a perusal of the record, it was noted that the CPIO vide letter dated 26.03.2021 replied to the appellant and enclosed a reply dated 25.03.2021 received from the custodian. In that reply, the CPIO had replied that the information regarding the work order pertains to information of a third party and is not shared as it may hamper the competitive parameters of concerned party. The FAA vide order dated 05.04.2021 reiterated the same reply. The CPIO vide written submissions dated 23.08.2022 had reiterated the reply of the CPIO and the FAA.
The appellant’s representative was asked to explain how the information sought is disclosable, to which he submitted that the disclosure of the information would not breach commercial confidence. The CPIO also failed to explain why she had not corrected the reply of the custodian and invoked the proper exemption clause.
Decision:
In view of the above observations, the CPIO is directed to revisit the RTI application, vis-a-vis the documents available and provide a suitable reply providing the information or denying the same (if applicable) properly amplifying the applicability of the particular denial clause under the provisions of the RTI Act. The same shall be complied with within 10 days from the date of receipt of the order keeping in consideration that the provisions of Sec 10 of the RTI Act may be applied, if feasible.
The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
Vanaja N. Sarna
Information Commissioner
Citation: Ms. Nupoor Shukla v. Bhilai Steel Plant in File no.: - CIC/SAIL1/A/2021/617742, Date of Decision: 01/09/2022