Central Information Commission
Felix W D' Souza vs Ministry Of Electronics & Information ... on 9 March, 2026
CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT
के ीय सूचना आयोग
Central Information Commission
बाबा गंगनाथ माग,मुिनरका
Baba Gangnath Marg, Munirka
नई द ली, New Delhi - 110067
ि तीय अपील सं या / Second Appeal No. CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT
Felix W D' Souza ... अपीलकता/Appellant
VERSUS
बनाम
CPIO: Ministry Of
Electronics & Information ... ितवादीगण/Respondents
Technology, New Delhi
CPIO: Ministry Of
Electronics & Information
Technology, Mumbai M.H
Relevant dates emerging from the appeal:
RTI : 18.02.2020 FA : 28.08.2020 SA : 21.10.2020
CPIO : 04.05.2020 FAO : 14.09.2020 Hearing : 18.02.2026
Date of Decision: 27.02.2026
CORAM:
Hon'ble Commissioner
Shri P R Ramesh
ORDER
1. The Appellant filed an RTI application dated 18.02.2020 seeking information on the following points:
"..a) Action Taken Report by SAMEER on the instructions issued vide letter no. 1(23)/2011-Vig dated 28/02/2014 (Copy enclosed for ready reference) addressed to Dr AL Das, Director-SAMEER by Shri Gaurav Dwivedi-Director (Vig.), MeitY, pointing out major gaps in the functioning of SAMEER, and Page 1 of 10 CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT subsequent reminder letter no. 1(23)/2011-Vig dated 29/08/2018 (Copy enclosed for ready reference) addressed to Director SAMEER by Ms Ansa John, Dy Dir (Vig).
b) List of the cases of appointment and promotions in SAMEER found to be beyond broad norms of recruitment / promotion in Deity as stated in para 2.1.2 of the letter dated 28/02/2014 and para 3 of the letter dated 29/08/2018.
c) The Report of the Committee set up for review of Appointments and Promotions in SAMEER in 2014-15, whose members were Shri. George Arakal, Smt CK Bajaj, Shri. Surender Jeet and Shri V K Sharma.
d) Action taken on the Report under clause (c) above.."
2. The CPIO replied vide letter dated 04.05.2020 and the same is reproduced as under:-
(a) Vigilance Unit, MeitY subsequent to the letters dated 28.02.2014 and 29.08.2018 issued by this Ministry (as quoted in your RTI application), has been pursuing the matter with ABC Division, MeitY being nodal administrative division of Autonomous Societies as well as with DG, SAMEER. Copies of DO letters/letters dated 16.01.2019, 25.02.2019, 29.04.2019, 23.07.2019 and 30.01.2020 issued by CVO/Vigilance Unit in this regard are attached herewith.
Copies of letters dated 25.01.2019, 22.05.2019 and 13.02.2020 received from ABC and copies of letters dated 12.03.2019, 17.09.2018, 26.03.2019 received from SAMEER in response are also enclosed. The draft RRs and list containing the information relating to promotions held in SAMEER are not being provided as the decision on these points is yet to be finalized.
(b) to (d) As regards the report on appointment and promotion made in SAMEER, it has been informed by SAMEER that the committee could not complete its task as three members of the said committee have already retired from service.
Page 2 of 10CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT
3. Dissatisfied with the response received from the CPIO, the Appellant filed a First Appeal dated 28.08.2020 alleging that the information provided was incomplete, false and misleading. The FAA vide order dated 14.09.2020 observed as under:-
"..2. Matters relating to appointments/promotions/RRs of SAMEER being administrative in nature are dealt by ABC Division and hence information relating to these may be sought directly from ABC Division, MeitY. Complaints against the officials of SAMEER except Head of SAMEER involving vigilance angle are handled by CVO, SAMEER. Therefore any complaint as reflected in your Appeal dated 28.08.2020 may be addressed to the concerned authorities..."
4. Aggrieved and dissatisfied, the Appellant approached the Commission with the instant Second Appeal.
Hearing proceedings (18.02.2026)
5. The instant matter was earlier listed before this Commission on 23.03.2022 wherein parties were heard at length, and the matter was adjourned. The matter was thus adjourned with the below- mentioned observations:
"..Interim Decision:
Upon perusal of the facts on record as well as on the basis of the proceedings during the hearing, the Commission observes that in order to issue a fair and.
6. balanced decision, impleading Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER), Mumbai is imperative. Therefore, the Commission directs the Registry of this Bench to issue a fresh notice of hearing to the concerned officials of SAMEER and further directs to re-schedule the instant matter on a later date...."
Page 3 of 10CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT Facts emerging in Course of Hearing: (18.02.2026) Appellant: Present through video-conference.
Respondent No. 1: Shri Rakesh Prasad Dangswaz, US, Ms. Ansa John, Dy. Secretary, Shri Sunny Kumar, Section Officer, ABC Division, Meity- participated in the hearing.
Respondent No. 2 : Shri S.S. Kakatkar, CPIO/Program Director/Scientist 'F'- participated in the hearing through video-conference.
6. The Appellant inter alia submitted that the relevant information has not been furnished to him within stipulated time frame. He further stated that although the RTI application was filed on 18.02.2020 and the Second Appeal on 21.10.2020, the information sought has not been provided even after the earlier hearing before the Commission on 23.03.2022. He stated that he received a response from the CPIO only on 17.02.2026, just prior to the scheduled hearing on 18.02.2026. He reiterated that the directives issued by the Director (Vigilance), MeitY vide letter dated 28.02.2014 regarding finalization of Recruitment Rules, constitution of a Review Committee to examine appointments and promotions in SAMEER, and action relating to Shri KKRK Nair have not been fully complied with, and key documents including the approved Recruitment Rules for non-S&T staff, minutes/report of the Review Committee meeting held in 2014, copies of FIRs regarding missing files, and the closure report of the vigilance complaint dated 12.04.2010 against Shri KKRK Nair have not been provided. A written submission dated 17.02.2026 reiterating the aforementioned facts has been received from the Appellant and same is taken on record for perusal.
7. The PIO, Meity submitted that the relevant information sought in the instant RTI Application pertains to SAMEER. They averred that appellant was informed that the matters relating to appointments/promotions/RRs of SAMEER being administrative in nature are dealt with by ABC Division, Meity and hence information relating to the same may be sought directly from ABC Division MeitY. Further complaints against the officials of SAMEER except head of SAMEER involving vigilance angle are handled by Page 4 of 10 CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT CVO, SAMEER. Therefore, any complaint as reflected in his first appeal dated 28.08.2020 may be addressed to the concerned authorities. A written submission dated 10.02.2026 in this regard has been received from the CPIO, Meity and same has been taken on record. The relevant extract whereof is as under:
"..In this regard, please find enclosed the information from CPIO, Vigilance Unit, MeitY.
SAMEER is an autonomous society under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and is located in Mumbai. The organization is headed by DG with its own administration wing. The nodal Division in the Ministry to look into the administrative matters of SAMEER is ABC Division.
In April 2010, Shri. Felix D'souza, an employee of SAMEER and as a member of SAMEER Employees Association sent a complaint to Vigilance Unit, MeitY alleging irregularities in SAMEER in the contracts awarded, procurement and promotions granted to Shri Radhakrishnan Nair, Admin Officer- II and missing personal file of Shri Radhakrishnan from the Establishment Section of SAMEER. After enquiring into the allegations made in the complaint, Vigilance Unit, MeitY sent a communication No. 1(23)/2011-Vig. dated 28.02.2014 to Director SAMEER informing the major gaps observed by Vigilance Unit, MeitY during the enquiry and directed necessary actions to be taken by SAMEER in regard to the gaps observed. Further to the said communication another communication No. 1(23)/2011- Vig. dated 29.08.2018 was sent to Director, SAMEER informing about the necessary remedial action to be taken by SAMEER in order to avoid such complaints in future. SAMEER was also advised to finalise the Recruitment Rules (RRs) and review the appointments and promotions made by them in consultation with ABC Division, the Nodal Administrative Division for SAMEER. A copy of the communication was also endorsed to ABC Division Page 5 of 10 CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT for compliance. Thereafter in regard to finalization of RRs, several communications took place between SAMEER and ABC Division on the matter. In regard to his complaint Shri D'souza sought information under RTI in February 2020 from Vigilance Unit, MeitY. In response, copies of communications between SAMEER and Vigilance Unit, Meity on the matter as well as ABC Division and also communications that took place between SAMEER and ABC Division subsequent to the communication of Vigilance Unit, MeitY were provided to the applicant under RTI (copy enclosed). He then filed a First Appeal on the matter on 28.08.2020. The information provided to him by Vigilance Unit, MeitY against his RTI application and First Appeal filed by him are as follows:
Copy of information dated 04.05.2020 supplied to him by CPIO MeitY against his RTI application is enclosed herewith for information. The RTI applicant then filed a First Appeal on 28.08.2020. The applicant conveyed that the information requested by him was not provided and he further brought out detailed information in his said appeal. In response vide communication dated 14.09.2020 (copy enclosed) informed the appellant that whatever information could be provided under RTI on the matter have already been provided to him by the CPIO, Vigilance Unit, MeitY. Any additional information desired by him on the matter may be sought directly from the custodian of the documents i.e. ABC Division or SAMEER or GC SAMEER. Specific reference of the documents, if any, needed from Vigilance Unit, MeitY may be indicated clearly for supply of relevant information by Vigilance Unit. MeitY under RTI Act. It was also informed to appellant that the matters relating to appointments/promotions/RRs of SAMEER being administrative in nature are dealt by ABC Division, Meity and hence information relating to the same may be sought directly from ABC Division MeitY. Complaints against the officials of SAMEER except head of SAMEER Page 6 of 10 CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT involving vigilance angle are handled by CVO, SAMEER. Therefore, any complaint as reflected in his appeal dated 28.08.2020 may be addressed to the concerned authorities.
Inspite of the above information furnished to him the appellant filed a Second Appeal to CIC on 21.10.2020 informing that the information requested by him has not been provided by CPIO, Vigilance Unit, Meity which is falsely stated as may be seen from the above-mentioned facts CIC then issued a Notice for Hearing vide communication No. CIC/MOLAB/A/2020/690095 dated 23.02.2022 for Hearing on 23.03.2022 before Hon'ble Information Commissioner, Dr. Amita Pandove with Shri Felix D'Souza as Appellant and CPIO, MeitY as Respondent. In the hearing CPIO, Vigilance Unit, Meit Y informed the facts and circumstances of the instant matter and it was informed that the custodian of the information requested by the Appellant was SAMEER. The Hon'ble Information Commissioner then gave an interim decision that directed the Registry of the Bench to issue a fresh Notice of Hearing to the concerned officials of SAMEER and further directed to reschedule the instant matter on a later date (copy enclosed). Vigilance Unit is presently in receipt of a Notice of Hearing from CIC for 18.92.2026. As the requested information of the appellant is to be considered by CPIO SAMEER, this Office does not have any further inputs to offer..."
8. The PIO, SAMEER submitted that the matter regarding the RRs was subsequently taken up and the same has been finalized and approved by MeitY for all the posts in the year 2021 for Group A- S&T and Non-S&T. Further for BGA posts the RRs were approved in the year 2025. A written submission dated 16.02.2026 has been received from PIO, SAMEER and same has been taken on record for perusal. The relevant extract whereof is as under:
Page 7 of 10CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT "..With reference to the RTI application dt. 18.02.2020 filed by Shri Felix W. D'Souza, and the second appeal file No. CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT dt.27-01-2026, an email dt.17-2- 2026 regarding the information has been shared with the applicant. A copy of the same has been attached herewith for your reference..."
9. The PIO, SAMEER vide email dated 17.02.2026 stated as under:
"..With reference to your RTI application dt. 18.02.2020 and the second appeal file No. CIC/ MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT dt.27-01- 2026, the information received from the concerned department is given in the attached.
With reference to your RTI application dt. 18.02.2020 and the second appeal file No. CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT dt.27-01-2026, the information received from the concerned department regarding actions taken on the letter dated 28.02.2014 is given below:
a. The matter regarding the RRs was subsequently taken up and the same has been finalized and approved by MeitY for all the posts in 2021 for Group A- S&T and Non-S&T. For BGA posts the RRs were approved in 2025. (Copy of the MeitY's covering letters enclosed) b. To have accountability and transparency SAMEER has moved to E- office based software for all internal office correspondence.
c. Shri K.K. Radhakrishnan, Sr. AO has retired from the services of SAMEER on 31.05.2018.
d. All the contracts on housekeeping, travels, gardening is processed in a transparent manner through GeM as on date.Page 8 of 10
CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT e. Therefore, SAMEER has already taken appropriate remedial action as directed by Vigilance unit letter dated 28.02.2014 & 29.08.2018..."
Decision (27.02.2026)
10. The Commission after adverting to the facts and circumstances of the case, hearing all parties and perusal of records, observes that the Appellant was an employee of SAMEER and as a member of SAMEER Employees Association sent a complaint to Vigilance Unit, MeitY alleging irregularities in SAMEER in the contracts awarded, procurement and promotions granted to Shri Radhakrishnan Nair, Admin Officer- II and missing personal file of Shri Radhakrishnan from the Establishment Section of SAMEER. It is noted that the main premise of the instant Second Appeal is non- furnishing of complete information by the PIO.
11. It is further observed that the main contention of the Appellant is that the information regarding finalization of Recruitment Rules, constitution of a Review Committee to examine appointments and promotions in SAMEER, and action relating to Shri Radhakrishnan Nair have not been provided to him. It is further observed that Respondent No. 2- PIO, SAMEER, during hearing apprised the Bench that Recruitment Rules were finalized and approved in year 2025. Considering the contentions of both the parties, the Commission directs Respondent No. 2- PIO, SAMEER to examine the instant RTI Application afresh and furnish a revised reply with respect to point No. 'c' and 'd' of the RTI Application to the Appellant. In doing so, the PIO shall ensure that any third-party information or any other information which is exempted from disclosure should not be disclosed and same should be redacted as per Section 10 of the RTI Act. Respondent No. 2- PIO, SAMEER shall also furnish a copy of Recruitment Rules as approved/finalized and followed by their department to the Appellant.
12. The said direction of the Commission must be complied with within four weeks from the date of receipt of this order and accordingly compliance report to this effect be Page 9 of 10 CIC/MOIAB/A/2020/690095/MOEIT duly sent to the Commission by the PIO within a week thereafter. The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
Sd/-
(P R Ramesh) (पी. आर. रमेश) Information Commissioner (सूचना आयु ) Authenticated true copy Vivek Agarwal (िववेक अ वाल) Dy. Registrar (उप पंजीयक) 011-26107048 Addresses of the parties:
1. CPIO under RTI, Secretary-(RTI/Admin), M/o.
Electronics & Information Technology-(MeitY), Dept. of Electronics & Information Technology, Electronics Niketan, 6--C.G.O. Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003.
2. CPIO under RTI, O/o. the Director, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research-(SAMEER) (M/o. E. & I.T.), IIT Campus, Powai, Mumbai-400076 (Maharashtra) 3 Felix W D' Souza Page 10 of 10 Recomendation(s) to PA under section 25(5) of the RTI Act, 2005:-
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