The applicant rued that the commission should have called for the information and given it to him considering he had already waited for over two years.
An RTI applicant slammed the information commission after it slapped a fine on a public information officer (PIO) and accepted her submission that she will get details for the applicant from some other department, instead of getting for him the information asked.
The applicant rued that the commission should have called for the information and given it to him considering he had already waited for over two years.
Kamlakar Shenoy, an RTI applicant, had sought information on documents used by a former municipal commissioner to overturn a decision made by his juniors regarding a property issue. "There were many violations and he overruled remarks by his juniors citing an urban development clarification and court order. I wanted certified copies of both," said Shenoy.
He had filed his application with the legal department of the BMC in March 2017. When the PIO did not provide information even after the first appellate authority's directions, Shenoy filed a second appeal at the information commission. However, PIO did not turn up for the first hearing and the hearing was pushed. When she did not turn up for the second hearing too, the commission fined her Rs 5,000, initiated an inquiry and ordered that the information be provided to the applicant.
When the applicant still did not get the information, he filed a complaint. The PIO again did not turn up for the hearing. "She came only after the commission issued summons threatening her with a warrant. However, instead of getting information and ensuring that it is given to me, the commission instead accepted her submission that she needs more time to take it from some other department and has given her seven days. What was she doing till now and what kind of order does the commission pass? The least it could have done is summoned information and given it to me," said Shenoy.
Sumit Mullick, chief information commissioner, said, "Man is not made for the law. The law is made for man. The law has to be used with utmost discretion."
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