Information about theft of railway property in DLW using RTI

Background

The appellant had sought information against some points with regard to a thief who was caught red handed while stealing railway property in Diesel Locomotive Workshop (DLW) premises at Varanasi by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel. Not satisfied with the reply provided by the Public Information Officer (PIO), the appellant filed an appeal with the First Appellate Authority. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) held that the matter relates to the theft of railway property and investigation is still going on and therefore information cannot be provided under section 8(1)(h) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders; of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. He also noted that the same information was being sought in different ways again and again through a number of RTI applications.

View of CIC

To the query whether the news of red handed apprehending of thief was conveyed to the higher railway authority, the Central Information Commission (CIC) directed the PIO to provide the covering letter along with which the news of theft was conveyed to the senior officers. Further, the Commission directed to inform the names of the RPF/ DLW personnel involved in catching the thief red handed as available in the copy of the FIR.

Citation: Ms. Tara Devi v. Diesel Rail Engine Workshop in File No.CIC/DS/A/2011/002268/RM