Reasons for transfer of an employee to be disclosed under RTI

Background

The wife of a railway employee filed an application under Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking reasons for transfer of her husband from Lucknow to Faizabad. The Public Information Officer (PIO) stated that the grievance of the appellant has been already readdressed, and her husband has been posted back from Faizabad to Lucknow. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information claiming that the sought information pertains to personal grievance which has been already readdressed by the Public Authority.

View of CIC

The Central Information Commission (CIC) directed the PIO to allow the appellant to inspect the file dealing with the transfers of her husband to Faizabad and back to Lucknow and provide the copies of documents and file notings as sought by the appellant during inspection free of cost. The Commission also issued a show-cause notice to the PIO for obstructing the supply of information despite the information being available with the Public Authority.

Comments

A PIO cannot claim that there is no need to provide information as the grievance of the applicant has been solved. The Right to Information (RTI) Act mandates providing the information within 30 days of the filing of the application irrespective of the action taken simultaneously on the application.

Citation: Mrs. Prabha Verma v. Railway Board in File No.CIC/AD/C/2011/001670