The decision, taken on April 4, by DP Sinha, central information commissioner was on an appeal filed by Pune-based applicant Vihar Durve.
An appeal seeking information on officers who put pictures of the prime minister and finance minister on the Central Information Commission's (CIC) website homepage was termed "frivolous" by the commission before being disposed of.
The decision, taken on April 4, by DP Sinha, central information commissioner was on an appeal filed by Pune-based applicant Vihar Durve.
On September 25, 2016, DNA had reported on the RTI activist raising a hue and cry when the pictures of the leaders were displayed on the homepage after the CIC's website underwent a revamp. Durve, in his application, had sought information regarding the authority of the officers to display photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the homepage, and the authority to remove the same. He also sought the web link where RTI applications and their replies are uploaded in compliance of the DOPT circular.
The appellant, during the hearing, stated that he was not satisfied with the reply of the then central public information officer (PIO) because he had not provided the name of the officers. The PIO's reply merely stated that the CIC and National Informatics Centre (NIC) had put up the pictures. Durve stated that other judicial/quasi-judicial institutions do not display photographs of political leaders such as that of the prime minister or cabinet ministers on their website like the CIC had.
The commission observed that "the appellant is seeking information on frivolous issues and is contesting a particular action of the public authority" before disposing it of. It added that the PIO had given "an appropriate reply as per the availability of facts on record".
Meanwhile, Durve said, "The commissioner has exceeded his brief in calling my application frivolous. There is no such term defined under the RTI Act. I have all the right to ask for information and consecutive SC orders have upheld my right as a citizen. Why should a picture of a political person be on the website? As an applicant, a person will be scared or will believe that the authority they are approaching considers these political leaders as their god and will never get an order against them."
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