RTI application seeking status of the refund amount under Health Insurance Scheme

Background

An ex- employee of LIC filed an application under Right to Information (RTI) act, seeking information regarding the status of the refund amount under his Health Insurance Scheme. The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed the appellant that information would be provided by the concerned department shortly. On appeal, the First Appellate Authority (FAA) informed the appellant that grievance matters cannot be resolved under RTI Act, 2005.

Proceedings

During the hearing, the respondents submitted that status of the refund amount cannot be traced as it is not clear as to under which Head of Account this amount is deposited. The respondents further submitted that if the appellant was willing to provide the original copy of the receipts of the premium payments made by him, the information can be traced. The appellant stated that in the past, he has provided several times the photo copies of the receipts to the PIO, but still no action has been taken by the Public Authority.

View of CIC

The Central Information Commission (CIC) directed the appellant to give the photo copy of the receipts once again to the deemed PIO, who will forward the same through fax to the PIO. The PIO would then trace the information and provide it to the appellant. The Commission further held that the respondents should also provide the details of the refund amount and cheque number issued to the appellant.

Citation: Mr. Saruj Kumar Srivastava v. LIC of India, in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2011/003202