Information has denied to the appellant on the grounds that CBI is exempted from the purview of the RTI Act u/s 24(1) - CIC noted that information pertains to corruption in CGEWHO - CIC: It would be prudent to await the Delhi HC verdict in WP(C) 7439/2012
6 Jul, 2016Date of Hearing : 18.05.2016
Order
1. Shri Anil Singh Shekhawat filed an application dated 28.05.2013 under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking information regarding action taken report along with correspondence on his complaint dated 17.05.2013 relating to the loss to the Government to the tune of Rs. 200 crores by the officials of Central Government Employees Welfare Housing Organization (CGEWHO) in connivance with a Construction Agency.
2. The appellant filed a second appeal dated 23.09.2013 before the Commission on the ground that he has not been provided information sought in his RTI application.
Hearing:
3. The appellant’s representative Shri Nalin Gupta and the respondent Shri R.S. Shekhawat, DIG, CBI were present in the hearing through video conferencing.
4. The appellant’s representative submitted that information has been denied to him on the grounds that as per Section 24(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: of the RTI Act, CBI is exempted from the purview of the RTI Act, except when the information pertains to allegations of corruption and human rights violations. The appellant further submitted that the information sought for relates to corruption and as per proviso to Section 24 (1) of the RTI Act information cannot be denied to him.
5. The respondent submitted that Central Bureau of Investigation has been put at SI. No. 23 of Second Schedule to the Right of Information Act, 2005 and as such RTI Act is not applicable to this organization. Hence, the provisions of the RTI Act are not applicable to the CBI except when the information pertains to allegations of corruption and human rights violations. Further, the information sought by the appellant does not pertain to allegations of corruption and human rights violations in CBI. Thus, the information sought by the complainant cannot be provided.
Decision:
6. The Commission heard the submissions of the appellant and perused the records. The Commission finds that information has been sought from CBI to which the RTI Act does not apply as per Section 24(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: of the RTI Act. The Commission also notes that information sought by the appellant pertains to corruptions in CGEWHO.
7. The Commission observes that in File No. CIC/SM/A/2011/001999 & File No. CIC/SM/A/2011/002285Shri Subhash Chander Agrawal vs. CBI which also relate to disclosure of information by CBI in matters relating to allegations of corruption, the Full Bench of the Commission vide order dated 07.12.2012 had, interalia, observed, in view of the stay granted by the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in in WP(C) 7439/2012 and CM No. 19011/2012 vide its order dated 30.11.2012 “…. we feel it would not be prudent to decide the present matter at this stage and it would be preferable to await the court’s verdict”.
8. In view of the above, the Commission is of the opinion that it would not be judicious to decide the matter in the present case at this juncture and it would be prudent to await the verdict of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in WP(C) 7439/2012.
9. Copy of decision be given free of cost to the parties.
(Sudhir Bhargava)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Anil Singh Shekhawat v. Central Bureau of Investigation in Decision No. CIC/RM/A/2014/001438/SB