Central Information Commission
Amit R Bhatnagar vs Central Railway on 13 February, 2025
के ीय सूचना आयोग
Central Information Commission
बाबा गंगनाथ माग, मुिनरका
Baba Gangnath Marg, Munirka
नई िद ी, New Delhi - 110067
File No: CIC/CRAIL/A/2023/651601
Amit R Bhatnagar .....अपीलकता/Appellant
VERSUS
बनाम
PIO,
Office of the Divisional Railway
Manager, Central Railway, CSMT,
Mumbai - 400001 .... ितवादीगण /Respondent
Date of Hearing : 10.02.2025
Date of Decision : 12.02.2025
INFORMATION COMMISSIONER : Vinod Kumar Tiwari
Relevant facts emerging from appeal:
RTI application filed on : 26.05.2023
CPIO replied on : 14.06.2023
First appeal filed on : 24.08.2023
First Appellate Authority's order : 12.09.2023
2nd Appeal/Complaint dated : Nil
Information sought:
The Appellant filed an RTI application (offline) dated 26.05.2023 seeking the following information:
"Kindly provide the following information pertaining to all ongoing/awarded/completed Tenders. & Contracts through IREPS/GEM which are Manpower/outcome based (Labor Involved engaged) such as work of AC Coach Attendant, OBHS, CTS, POWER CAR Attendant, Pantry Page 1 of 10 Car Cook & Hawkers, Laundry operation, Linen washing and Distribution, All Housekeeping, or manning contracts of Railway offices/Workshops/Stations/Railway staff Colonies Hospitals/Rest Houses/Training Institutes/Hostel/Lifts/Coaching Depot of entire Mechanical & Electrical Department of Central Railway for period Jan- 2018 to Apr 2023.
Information required as follows:
1- Kindly provide the List of all Tenders & Contracts which has been awarded contract.
2- Kindly provide the certified Copy of Contract Agreement of all above said ongoing/executed Tenders & Contracts. 3- Kindly provide the details of engagement of all contractual labors on the basis of Qualification, Gender and caste (GL/SC/ST/OBC) in ongoing and executed Tenders & Contracts.
4- Kindly provide the details and current status of all legal disputes /court cases of contractual labours payments in Tenders & Contracts executed or ongoing for period 5- Kindly provide the following details of all Contract ongoing/executed at Central Railway.
i- Numbers of total labours employed contract wise. ii- Compliance to Statutory requirements in engagement of contract labour by Indian Railways as per Railway Bd L.No: RBE 20/2020 of dated 18/02/2020.
iii-Copy of complaints received and details of action taken regarding non Compliance to Statutory requirements.
iv-Total Penalty imposed or any other action taken against contractor for non Compliance to Statutory requirements.
v-Copy of work permit, Police Verification Report, medical report of all labours engaged in above said Contracts, 6- Kindly provide the details of all female contractual staff who have been given maternity leave with payment during the period 2018-2023. 7- Kindly provide the details of all Accidents reported with Contractual Labours engaged in the above said contract during the period 2018-2023 & corrective measures taken.
8- Kindly provide the details of all kinds of steps taken by Principal Employer Railway for welfare of contractual labours for the period 2018- 2023.
9- Kindly provide the details of action taken by Central Railway till date regarding the Compliance to Statutory requirements as per RBE 20/2020 of dated 18/02/2020.Page 2 of 10
10-Kindly provide the details of action taken by Central Railway till date regarding the non-Compliance to Statutory requirements as per RBE 20/2020 of dated 18/02/2020.
11-Kindly provide the details of action taken by Central Railway administration till date against the contractor for non-Compliance to Statutory requirements in engagement of contract labour by Central Railway as per Railway Bd L. No:RBE 20/2020 of dated 18/02/2020. 12-Kindly provide the details of action taken by Central Railway administration till date against the Officer In-charge for non-Compliance to Statutory requirements in engagement of contract labour by Indian Railways as per Railway Bd L. No: RBE 20/2020 of dated 18/02/2020. 13- Kindly provide the details of total funds deducted by Central Railway on account of ESIC & PF deduction of contractual Labour for the period 2018-2023.
14-Kindly provide the details of Registration of the Principal Employer under the CLRA. 1970 Act with the Office of the Labour Commissioners for all awarded contracts for getting the work/activities done in their premises.
15-Kindly provide the details of Intimation about commencement of all contract work to Labour Commissioner by the Principal Employer Central Railway as per section 28 of CLRA, 1970.Act.
16-Kindly provide the details of Submission of Annual Returns of all contract by the Principal Employer Central Railway to Labour Commissioner as per CLRA 1970. Act.
17-Kindly provide the details of Obtaining license by the all contractor with respect to contracts awarded by Principal Employer Central Railway as per CLRA 1970, Act.
18-Kindly provide the details of Display of license at work site with respect to all contracts awarded by Principal Employer Central Railway as per CLRA 1970. Act.
19-Kindly provide the details of Number of all contract labour employed under Rules17 also provide that the number of workmen employed as contract labour in the establishment shall not, on any day, exceed the maximum number specified in the license., provide details of contract where the act is violated.
20-Kindly provide the details of Returns to be submitted by the contractor to Labour Commissioner under Rules21 which require that every contractor shall send half yearly return in Form XXIV (Appendix V) in duplicate to the Office of the Labour Commissioner, please provide details of any violation over central railway.
21-Kindly provide the details of Amenities to contract Workers provided by the Principal Employer Central Railway.Page 3 of 10
22- Kindly provide the details of compliance of Rule-27 of CLRA-1970 ACT relating to responsibility for payment of wages to workers, please provide details of any violation. where Principal Employers Central Railway failed to nominate its representative even for contracts where they were registered as Principal Employers.
23-Kindly provide the details of Maintenance of records (Muster Roll, Register of Wages, Register of Deductions, Register of Overtime, Register of Fines, Register of Advances, Wages Slips etc.) by the Principal Employers Central Railway and contractor In respect of each registered establishment, Principal Employers are required to maintain a "Register of Contractors in Form XII (Appendix VI) showing for the period 2018- 2023.
24-Kindly provide the details of NON Compliance to MWA, 1948 and MWR, 1950 by the Principal Employer Central Railway and contractor for the period 2018-2023, 25-Kindly provide the details of Payment of wages for rest day (at normal rates) to employees by the contractors under Rule 39 of MWA-1948 ACT over entire Central Railway for the period 2018-2023.
26-Kindly provide the details of Payment of wages for substitute rest day at double the rate of normal wages under Rule 40 over entire Central Railway under MWA, 1948 for the period 2018-2023. 27-Kindly provide the details of Adherence to prescribed hours/days of working and payment of wages thereof as per rule 41 over entire Central Railway under MWA, 1948 for the period 2018-2023. 28-Kindly provide the details of all kind of violation cases of CLRA-1970, CLRR-1971, MWA-1948 & MWR-1950 over entire Central Railway for the period 2018-2023.
29-Kindly provide the details of all contracts where hills are pending even contract period exhausted due to non Compliance to Statutory requirements in engagement of contract labour by Central Railway as per Railway Bd L. No: RBE 20/2020 of dated 18/02/2020. And action taken by Central railway to clear the pending bills. 30-Kindly provide the details of all contracts where contract is terminated and contractor is blacklisted due to non Compliance to Statutory requirements in engagement of contract labour by Central Railway as per Railway Bd L. No: RBE 20/2020 of dated 18/02/2020. Or any other legal action taken by railway to ensure the Compliance to Statutory requirements."
The CPIO furnished a reply to the Appellant on 14.06.2023 stating as under:
Page 4 of 10"1 से 30. The information sought by the applicant is involve third party and personal information, Hence information cannot be provided under RTI act section 8(1) j."
Being dissatisfied, the appellant filed a First Appeal dated 24.08.2023. The FAA vide its order dated 12.09.2023, held as under.
"Accordingly, remarks were sought on your first appeal from Sr DME (Fr & Ops) & PIO who has offered remarks vide letter dt. 06.09.2023. The Railway administration and the recognized unions work closely to redress the grievance of the employees and ensure smooth working of Railways. Issues, if any, are resolved through dialogues and other means of grievance redressal like PNM meetings, special sessions of meetings etc. Further, the information sought is personal in nature and exempted u/s 8 (1) (j) of the RTI act. In view of the same, Sr DME (Fr & Ops) & PIO has correctly advised that if there are suggestions / developments in bringing out further improvement, Railway administration will explore the same.
So, proper channel may be adopted."
Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied, appellant approached the Commission with the instant Second Appeal.
Relevant Facts emerged during Hearing:
The following were present:-
Appellant: Not Present.
Respondent: Shri Chandan Kumar, ADME & PIO present through Video- Conference.
Written submissions of the Respondent are taken on record.
The Respondent while defending their case inter-alia submitted that vide their letter dated 14.06.2023, they have categorically informed the Appellant that the information sought by him is personal information of third party, which is exempted from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. Further, the FAA had also upheld the reply given by the CPIO.
Upon being queried by the Commission, the Respondent submitted that contract related information is duly available on the website of Respondent Page 5 of 10 Public Authority. The Respondent further apprised that the Appellant is an employee of Respondent Public Authority.
Decision:
The Commission based on a perusal of the facts on record observes that the core contention raised by Appellant in the instant Appeal was non-receipt of information from the Respondent.
The Commission observes that the Appellant has sought specific information in his RTI application related to ongoing/awarded/completed Tenders. & Contracts through IREPS/GEM which are Manpower/outcome based etc. The information sought by him is in larger public interest and should be put in public domain as per Section 4 of the RTI Act, as expenses on such things are made from public fund. However, the Respondent instead of giving point-wise reply in the matter, has given a very generic response by invoking Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. Although, certain information as sought by the Appellant is personal information of third party viz. details of all female contractual staff who have been given maternity leave with payment during the period 2018- 2023, which is exempted from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.
The Commission would like to counsel the Respondent that every public authority shall make constant endeavour to take steps in accordance with the requirements of Section 4 (1) (b) of the RTI Act to provide as much information suo moto to the public at required intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that public does not have to resort to the use of RTI Act to obtain basic information. In this regard, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India recently in case of Kishan Chand Jain vs. Union of India & Ors., Writ Petition (Civil) No. 990 of 2021, vide its judgement dated 17.08.2023, has held as under:
"25. Having examined the Right to Information established by the statute under Section 3 in the context of the obligations of public authorities under Section 4, we are of the opinion that the purpose and object of the statute will be accomplished only if the principle of accountability governs the relationship between 'right holders' and 'duty bearers'. The Central and State Information Commissions have a prominent place, having a statutory recognition under Chapters III and IV of the Act and their powers and functions all enumerated in Page 6 of 10 detail in Section 18 of the Act. We have also noted the special power of 'Monitoring and Reporting' conferred on the Central and State Information Commissioners which must be exercised keeping in mind the purpose and object of the Act, i.e., 'to promote transparency and accountability in working of every public authority".
26. "For the reasons stated above, we direct that the Central Information Commission and the State Information Commissions shall continuously monitor the implementation of the mandate of Section 4 of the Act as also prescribed by the Department of Personnel and Training in its Guidelines and Memorandums issued from time to time. The directions will also include instructions under O.M. dated 07.11.2019 issued by the Department. For this purpose, the Commissioners will also be entitled to issue recommendations under sub-Section (5) of Section 25 to public authorities for taking necessary steps for complying with the provisions of the Act."
In furtherance to the above directions passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, the Secretary of Central Information Commission vide letter dated 12.02.2024, has requested the Respondent Public Authority, to take necessary action for implementation of the mandate of Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005. The Commission in its earlier order dated 29.10.2024 in file No. CIC/DSIDC/A/2023/130549 had given similar directions related to information regarding contracts/agreements, the relevant para is reproduced hereinbelow:
"It is noteworthy that the information sought by the appellant at para (a) to (f) of RTI application is in numeric figures which should ideally be available in public domain upfront to maintain transparency in the system. For ease of reading, name of such tender/award letter documents, inter alia are reproduced below -
1. NIT.
2. Terms and conditions.
3. Information to bidders (ITB).
4. Minutes of PBC (Pre-bid consultation).
5. Award Letter.
6. Estimated Amount at which tender awarded.
7. Date of start.
8. Date of completion (as per award/NIT).
9. Engineer-in-charge, their name & designation.
10. Supervisor with their name & designation.Page 7 of 10
Usually, the information mentioned above at point Nos. 6 to 10 is included in award letters which should be easily accessible from the website of concerned Public Authority. Further, the information such as completion certificate, MB (Measurement Book), Quality Check Report (QCR), Bill of Quantity (BoQ), Registration Certificate of Contractor are also made available to the public on demand as it does not attract exemption as per the RTI Act. In this regard, the attention of the parties is invited towards a judgement of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case titled Reserve Bank of India vs Jayantilal N. Mistry on 16 December, 2015:AIR 2016 SUPREME COURT 1 wherein it was held as under:-
"...80. At this juncture, we may refer the decision of this Court in Mardia Chemicals Limited vs. Union of India, (2004) 4 SCC 311, wherein this court while considering the validity of SARFAESI Act and recovery of non- performing assets by banks and financial institutions in India, held :-
".............it may be observed that though the transaction may have a character of a private contract yet the question of great importance behind such transactions as a whole having far reaching effect on the economy of the country cannot be ignored, purely restricting it to individual transactions more particularly when financing is through banks and financial institutions utilizing the money of the people in general namely, the depositors in the banks and public money at the disposal of the financial institutions. Therefore, wherever public interest to such a large extent is involved and it may become necessary to achieve an object which serves the public purposes, individual rights may have to give way. Public interest has always been considered to be above the private interest. Interest of an individual may, to some extent, be affected but it cannot have the potential of taking over the public interest having an impact in the socio- economic drive of the country..........."
xxxx
82. We have, therefore, given our anxious consideration to the matter and came to the conclusion that the Central Information Commissioner has passed the impugned orders giving valid reasons and the said orders, therefore, need no interference by this Court."
In view of the above, an advisory under Section 25(5) of the RTI Act is issued to the Respondent Public Authority for upfront disclosure of documents/ Page 8 of 10 information related to tenders, award letters etc. under Section 4 of the RTI Act to make it easy for a layperson to get relevant information through website. This will also relieve the Public Authority of the burden of such RTI Applications."
The Commission further observes that the information sought by the Appellant in his RTI application appears to be voluminous in nature and collation and compilation of which would entail diversion of manpower resources of the Public Authority and thus, cannot be provided in view of Section 7(9) of RTI Act. The same can be garnered from the relevant provisions of Section 7(9) of RTI Act which is reproduced below for ready reference -
"...7. Disposal of request.--
xxx (9) An information shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or would be detrimental to the safety or preservation of the record in question..."
It also appears that the Appellant has grossly misconceived the idea of exercising his Right to Information as being absolute and unconditional. It is rather unfortunate that even the best of intentions have to not only stand the test of procedural requirements and fetters laid down in the RTI Act but also stand the test of practicality, a notion well recognised by superior Courts through various judgments such as the Hon'ble Supreme Court's observation in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) & Anr. v. Aditya Bandhopadhyay and others [(2011) 8 SCC 497] stating that:
"37. xxxxx The Act should not be allowed to be misused or abused, to become a tool to obstruct the national development and integration, or to destroy the peace, tranquility and harmony among its citizens. Nor should it be converted into a tool of oppression or intimidation of honest officials striving to do their duty. The nation does not want a scenario where 75% of the staff of public authorities spends 75% of their time in collecting and furnishing information to applicants instead of discharging their regular duties. The threat of penalties under the RTI Page 9 of 10 Act and the pressure of the authorities under the RTI Act should not lead to employees of a public authorities prioritising 'information furnishing', at the cost of their normal and regular duties."(Emphasis Supplied)......."
However, the Respondent has informed that contract related information has already been suo-moto disclosed by them on their website.
In view of the above observations and in the interest of justice, the Respondent is directed to provide specific URL/website link along with complete path to the Appellant where the Appellant can easily access the contract related information (as sought in the RTI application), within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of this order.
The FAA is directed to ensure compliance of this order.
The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
Vinod Kumar Tiwari (िवनोद कुमार ितवारी) Information Commissioner (सूचना आयु ) Authenticated true copy (अिभ मािणत स!ािपत ित) (S. Anantharaman) Dy. Registrar 011- 26181927 Date Copy To:
THE FAA, ADRM, Office of the Divisional Railway Manager, Central Railway, CSMT, Mumbai - 400001 Page 10 of 10 Recomendation(s) to PA under section 25(5) of the RTI Act, 2005:-
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