Central Information Commission
Mr.Kamal Kishore Arora vs Ministry Of Commerce And Industry on 16 December, 2011
Appeal No.CIC/SS/A/2011/000122
CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
B- Wing, 2nd Floor,
August Kranti Bhavan, Bhikaji Cama Place,
New Delhi - 110066
Appeal No.CIC/SS/A/2011/0001220
PARTIES TO THE CASE:
(Through Video conferencing)
Appellant : Shri K.K. Arora (present)
Respondent : Intellectual Property Appellate Board, Ministry f
Commerce & Industry, Government of India (through Shri Suresh, CAPIO and Shri P.V. Nivaraman, PS to Chairman, IPAB) Date of Hearing : 28/11/2011 ADJUNCT ORDER
1. The Appellant has filed RTI Application dated 06/04/2011 seeking detailed particulars of case laws and book references as relied upon by the Appellant in support of some appeal held before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, Chennai ("IPAB") on 02/02/2010 and some review petition held on 24/09/2010. Thus, broadly stating, the Appellant had sought certified copies of records held and maintained by the IPAB as part of the proceedings in the 1 Appeal No.CIC/SS/A/2011/000122 form of appeal and review petition held before & adjudicated upon by the IPAB.
2. The CPIO vide Order dated 04/05/2011 as well as the FAA vide Order dated 31/05/2011 have refused to provide the said information by stating that the case laws / books cited or referred by the IPAB while passing an Order are already mentioned in the same Order itself. Furthermore, Registry of the IPAB is supplying copies of documents which form part of its records. Such records are open to inspection under Rule 25 of IPAB (Procedure) Rules, 2003, subject to payment of prescribed fees and xerox copies of the said records can be obtained upon payment of INR 5 for each page of the said records.
3. The Commission considers that the present case is squarely covered by the Order dated 23/05/2011 passed by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in W.P.(C) No.3530/2011 wherein it has been observed as follows:
"3. An important question that arises in the present writ petition is whether an application seeking information relating to court proceedings can be processed under the Right to Information Act, 2005 notwithstanding that there exist rules of procedure of the 2 Appeal No.CIC/SS/A/2011/000122 court concerning the disclosure of such information to the applicant.
5. Till the next date of hearing, there shall be a stay of the impugned order of the Central Information Commission ("CIC"). The CIC will also not proceed with petitions involving similar questions till a decision is rendered in the present writ petition."
4. In the present case, IPAB, being a quasi-judicial authority, has its own procedures for dissemination and inspection of its records de hors the RTI Act. The information sought by the Appellant clearly pertains to proceedings before such quasi-judicial authority as the IPAB.
5. Therefore, in line with the stricture passed by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the said writ petition (supra), the Commission considers it appropriate to adjourn the present matter sine die till any further directions / Order are passed by the Court in this regard.
(Sushma Singh) Information Commissioner 16.12.2011 Authenticated True Copy (DC Singh) Deputy Registrar 3 Appeal No.CIC/SS/A/2011/000122 Name & Address of Parties:
Sh. Kamal Kishore Arora, 1158, Bazar Old Kanak Mandi, Amritsar - 143 006, Punjab The CPIO, Intellectual Property Appellate Board, Guna Complex AnnexeI, 2nd Floor, 443, Anna Salai, Teynampet, Chennai - 600 018 The Appellate Authority, Intellectual Property Appellate Board, Guna Complex AnnexeI, 2nd Floor, 443, Anna Salai, Teynampet, Chennai - 600 018 4