RTI Corner

The Appellant sought information regarding the number of seats allowed by the CBSE to B.D. Public School for intake in Class IX and XI and issues related thereto. The PIO provided the student description furnished by the School as per its online application no. EX-02558-1516 and informed that no further information was available with them. The CIC observed that the Appellant had raised very pertinent issues regarding permissions granted by the CBSE for maximum student intake by the School which concerned the interest of the public at large. The CIC felt that periodic and up-to-date disclosure of such information could render the entire admission process transparent since the public would be informed about maximum intakes allowed to a school and take an informed decision in pursuing the admission process. The CIC advised the CBSE to instruct the schools affiliated to the Board to periodically suo motu disclose all information regarding the Student Intake and other such related information by them to the Board as also upload details on their website keeping in view the spirit of the RTI Act, 2005 and the larger public interest involved in the matter.
Comments
Schools are the centres of learning and one of the most important sections of public life which should voluntarily disclose the information as per section 4. This decision would enable more parents to demand disclosure from schools.
Citation: Mr. Sanjeev Kumar v. CBSE, Delhi in Appeal No.:-CIC/CBSED/A/2017/195101-BJ, Date of Decision : 16.02.2018
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is the co-author of the books: RIGHT TO INFORMATION – LAW AND PRACTICand PIO’s guide to RTI. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at - http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/

The appellant wanted the basic procedure following which warning/red alert regarding weather conditions is issued by the Indian Meteorological Department. He sought the list of dates and details of all warnings/red alert issued by the department, the reason of warning/red alert ex. Heavy rain, earthquake, cyclone, storm, etc, the place for which it was issued, and whether it turned to be true or false. As the information was voluminous, the PIO sought a clarification from the appellant regarding the specific area and period pertaining to which the appellant wanted the information. The CIC directed the PIO to provide a detailed report to the appellant explaining the procedure through which such alerts are issued by the Department and number of such alerts issued in 2017 that turned out to be true and number of alerts that failed.
Comments
Whenever a voluminous information is sought, the PIO should seek a clarification from the applicant to narrow down the request.
Citation: Chetan Kothari v. Indian Meteorological Department in CIC/IMETD/A/2017/180721, Date of Decision: 01.02.2018
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is the co-author of the books: RIGHT TO INFORMATION – LAW AND PRACTICand PIO’s guide to RTI. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at - http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/

The appellant sought certain information about the contract employees. The CPIO informed that the attendance register and salary slip of the employees of contractor are maintained by the contractor and hence, the custodian of these documents is the contractor. These documents are not available with them and they have nothing to do with the employees of the contractor. The CPIO informed that the records were called for from the contractor two times but he did not produce any document and he has been blacklisted. Furthermore, they do not have any instrument to force the contractor to call for the documents legally. The Commission observed that due to absence of any terms & condition, regarding calling for the record, in the agreement arrived between the NPCIL and the contractor, the respondent is not able to force the contractor to produce the documents. The CIC advised the respondent to look at their agreements and make change, if necessary, for calling for the record from the contractor.
Comments
This case law offers a lesson for drawing an agreement for all those government departments where contract labour is hired for any work.
Citation: Mr. Rakesh Kumar Devatiya v. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd., in Appeal No. CIC/NPCOI/A/2017/185052 CIC/NPCOI/A/2017/185055, Dated of Decision: 18.10.2017
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is the co-author of the books: RIGHT TO INFORMATION – LAW AND PRACTICand PIO’s guide to RTI. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at - http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/