Central Information Commission
Sneh Lata Mangla vs Ministry Of Urban Development on 21 October, 2019
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/MOURB/A/2018/121606-BJ
Mrs. Sneh Lata Mangla
....अपीलकता /Appellant
VERSUS
बनाम
CPIO (RERA)
Real Estate Regulatory Authority
14th Floor, Vikas Minar, DDA Building
New Delhi - 110002
... ितवादीगण /Respondent
Date of Hearing : 17.10.2019
Date of Decision : 21.10.2019
Date of RTI application 04.12.2017
CPIO's response 07.12.2017
Date of the First Appeal 19.12.2017
First Appellate Authority's response 12.02.2018
Date of diarised receipt of Appeal by the Commission 05.04.2018
ORDER
FACTS:
The Appellant vide her RTI application sought information on 15 points regarding whether Umang Realtech Pvt. Ltd. ("URPL") applied for registration of their real estate project called Winter Hills located at Dwarka Mor; all documents and information furnished by URPL for registration of their real estate project and other issues thereto.
The CPIO, vide its letter dated 07.12.2017 furnished a point - wise response to the Appellant. Dissatisfied by the response of the CPIO, the Appellant approached the FAA. The FAA, vide its order dated 12.02.2018 stated that the Appellant had filed a Writ Petition where RERA was shown as a Respondent. It was further stated that a Complaint No. 19/2017 was also filed by the Appellant before RERA and notice to the Respondent was already issued. Hence, since the matter was sub - judice, it would not be fair and appropriate to provide the documents/information since information at this stage would impede the process the adjudication.Page 1 of 6
HEARING:
Facts emerging during the hearing:
The following were present:
Appellant: Ms. Sanam Siddiqui (Adv.), Appellant's representative; Respondent: Absent;
The Respondent remained absent during the hearing. The Appellant's representative reiterated the contents of the RTI application and stated that the information sought by the Appellant had not been provided. It was alleged that the reply of the CPIO / FAA mainly aimed at deflecting the issues rather than providing information. It was articulated that the reply of the FAA was misleading which stated that the matter was sub-judice whereas it had no co-relation to the queries raised by the Appellant. Emphasizing that the issues raised by the Appellant were in the larger public interest, there was no reason for the Respondent Public Authority for shying away from addressing the queries at hand. Due to the absence of the Respondent, despite intimation, the Commission could not ascertain the factual position.
The Commission at the outset observed that the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005 and various judgements on the subject matter clearly establishes that it is the duty of the CPIO to provide clear, cogent and precise response to the information seekers. Section 7 (8) (i) of the RTI Act, 2005 also states that where a request for disclosure of information is rejected, the CPIO shall communicate the reasons for such rejection. The Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the matter of J P Aggarwal v. Union of India (WP (C) no. 7232/2009 clearly stated that the PIO acts as the Pivot for enforcing the implementation of the Act. The relevant extracts of the decision are as under:
" 7"it is the PIO to whom the application is submitted and it is who is responsible for ensuring that the information as sought is provided to the applicant within the statutory requirements of the Act. Section 5(4) is simply to strengthen the authority of the PIO within the department; if the PIO finds a default by those from whom he has sought information. The PIO is expected to recommend a remedial action to be taken". The RTI Act makes the PIO the pivot for enforcing the implementation of the Act."
8.............The PIO is expected to apply his / her mind, duly analyse the material before him / her and then either disclose the information sought or give grounds for non-disclosure."
Furthermore, the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of Shri Vivek Mittal v. B.P. Srivastava, W.P.(C) 19122/2006 dated 24.08.2009 had upheld the view of the CIC and observed that ".....The Act as framed, castes obligation upon the CPIOs and fixes responsibility in case there is failure or delay in supply of information. It is the duty of the CPIOs to ensure that the provisions of the Act are fully complied with and in case of default, necessary consequences follow".
Page 2 of 6Furthermore, the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi in the matter of R.K. Jain vs Union of India, LPA No. 369/2018, dated 29.08.2018, held as under:
"9................................ That apart, the CPIO being custodian of the information or the documents sought for, is primarily responsible under the scheme of the RTI Act to supply the information and in case of default or dereliction on his part, the penal action is to be invoked against him only."
The Commission also noted that it should be the endeavour of the CPIO to ensure that maximum assistance should be provided to the RTI applicants to ensure the flow of information. In this context, the Commission referred to the OM No.4/9/2008-IR dated 24.06.2008 issued by the DoP&T on the Subject "Courteous behavior with the persons seeking information under the RTI Act, 2005" wherein it was stated as under:
"The undersigned is directed to say that the responsibility of a public authority and its public information officers (PIO) is not confined to furnish information but also to provide necessary help to the information seeker, wherever necessary."
The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of Bihar Public Service Commission v. Saiyed Hussain Abbas Rizwi: (2012) 13 SCC 61 while explaining the term "Public Interest" held:
"22. The expression "public interest" has to be understood in its true connotation so as to give complete meaning to the relevant provisions of the Act. The expression "public interest" must be viewed in its strict sense with all its exceptions so as to justify denial of a statutory exemption in terms of the Act. In its common parlance, the expression "public interest", like "public purpose", is not capable of any precise definition. It does not have a rigid meaning, is elastic and takes its colour from the statute in which it occurs, the concept varying with time and state of society and its needs (State of Bihar v. Kameshwar Singh([AIR 1952 SC 252]). It also means the general welfare of the public that warrants recognition and protection; something in which the public as a whole has a stake [Black's Law Dictionary (8th Edn.)]."
The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of Ashok Kumar Pandey vs The State Of West Bengal (decided on 18 November, 2003Writ Petition (crl.) 199 of 2003) had made reference to the following texts for defining the meaning of "public interest', which is stated as under:
"Strouds Judicial Dictionary, Volume 4 (IV Edition),'Public Interest' is defined thus:
"Public Interest (1) a matter of public or general interest does not mean that which is interesting as gratifying curiosity or a love of information or amusement but that in which a class of the community have a pecuniary interest, or some interest by which their legal rights or liabilities are affected."
In Black's Law Dictionary (Sixth Edition), "public interest" is defined as follows :
Public Interest something in which the public, or some interest by which their legal rights or liabilities are affected. It does not mean anything the particular localities, which may be affected by the matters in question. Interest shared by national government...."Page 3 of 6
In Mardia Chemical Limited v. Union of India (2004) 4 SCC 311, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India while considering the validity of SARFAESI Act and recovery of non- performing assets by banks and financial institutions in India, recognised the significance of Public Interest and had held as under :
".............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..........."
In the context of disclosure of information relating to building plans of projects, the Commission refers to a recent decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of Ferani Hotels Private Limited vs. the State Information Commissioner, Greater Mumbai & Others in Civil Appeal Nos. 9064-9065 of 2018 (Arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 32073-32074/ 2015) dated 27.09.2018, wherein the Hon'ble Court has directed to disclose the building plans, sanctioned plans, and details of commercial establishments in the public domain. The relevant observations made in the decision are mentioned hereunder:
"15.............In terms of sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the said Act, there is no mandate on an applicant to give any reason for requesting the information, i.e., anybody should be able to obtain the information as long as it is part of the public record of a public authority. Thus, even private documents submitted to public authorities may, under certain situations, form part of public record. In this behalf, we may usefully refer to Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, defining 'public documents' as under:
74. Public documents - The following documents are public documents:-
(1) Documents forming the acts, or records of the acts--
(i) of the sovereign authority,
(ii) of official bodies and tribunals, and
(iii) of public officers, legislative, judicial and executive, [of any part of India or of the Commonwealth], or of a foreign country; [of any part of India or of the Commonwealth], or of a foreign country;"
(2) Public records kept [in any State] of private documents.
16. The only exemption from disclosure of information, of whatever nature, with the public authority is as per Sections 8 & 9 of the said Act. Thus, unless the information sought for falls under these provisions, it would be mandatory for the public authorities to disclose the information to an applicant."
23. The fate of purchase of land development and investments is a matter of public knowledge and debate. Any judicial pronouncement must squarely weigh in favour of the fullest disclosure, in this behalf........
Page 4 of 624. In the aforesaid circumstances, even by a test of public interest, it can hardly be said that the same would not apply in matters of full disclosure of information of development plans to all and everyone.....
26. Similarly, clause (j) of sub-section (1) of Section 8 of the said Act ex facie would have no relevance. There is no 'personal information' of which disclosure is sought. Further it cannot be said that it has no relation to public activity or interest, or that it is unwarranted, or there is an invasion of privacy. These are documents filed before public authorities, required to be put in public domain, by the provisions of the Maharashtra Act and the RERA, and involves a public element of making builders accountable to one and all......
34. In the end, we would like to say that keeping in mind the provisions of RERA and their objective, the developer should mandatorily display at the site the sanction plan. The provision of sub-section (3) of Section 11 of the RERA require the sanction plan/layout plans along with specifications, approved by the competent authority, to be displayed at the site or such other places, as may be specified by the Regulations made by the Authority. In our view, keeping in mind the ground reality of rampant violations and the consequences thereof, it is advisable to issue directions for display of such sanction plan/layout plans at the site, apart from any other manner provided by the Regulations made by the Authority. This aspect should be given appropriate publicity as part of enforcement of RERA"
While relying on the aforesaid judgment of the Apex Court, the Commission in several decisions such as CIC/DOURD/A/2017/148703-BJ dated 06.03.2019 directed the Dy. L&DO, M/o Urban Development to disclose details of lease allotments, terms & conditions of the lease, complete procedure relating to grant of lease, details of monitoring authority etc. of all leased properties as per Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005. Similarly, in CIC/DDATY/A/2018/115957-BJ dated 17.09.2019 the Commission had allowed disclosure of Building Plan, Maps/details of land use/details of lands allotted, etc. and other relevant documents in respect of M2K Victoria Garden at Azadpur, New Delhi.
Furthermore, the Commission also observed that as per the provisions of section 8 (1) of the RTI Act, 2005, no specific exemption is codified which allows non-disclosure of information on the ground that the matter on which information is sought is sub-judice. In this context, the following extract of the decision of the High Court of Delhi in Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. R.K. Jain in W.P. (C) 14120/ 2009 dated 23.09.2010 can be cited:
"5...........The matter being sub judice before a court is not one of the categories of information which is exempt from disclosure under any of the clauses of Section 8(1) of the RTI Act."
The Respondent was not present to contest the submissions of the Appellant or to substantiate their claims further.
Page 5 of 6DECISION:
Keeping in view the facts of the case and the submissions made by the Appellant's representative, the Commission directs the Respondent to disclose point-wise information to the Appellant within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of this order respecting the aforesaid judgments as also the spirit of the RTI Act, 2005 and the larger public interest involved therein. Any departure from non-compliance of this decision would attract penal action in accordance with Section 20 (1) of the RTI Act, 2005.
The Commission also instructs the Respondent Public Authority to convene periodic conferences/seminars to sensitize, familiarize and educate the concerned officials about the relevant provisions of the RTI Act, 2005 for effective discharge of its duties and responsibilities.
The Appeal stands disposed accordingly.
(Bimal Julka) (िबमल जु का)
का)
(Information Commissioner) (सूचना आयु )
Authenticated true copy
(अ भ मा णत स या पत त)
(K.L. Das) (के .एल.दास)
(Dy. Registrar) (उप-पंजीयक)
011-26182598/ [email protected]
दनांक / Date: 21.10.2019
Copy to:
1. The Chairman, Real Estate Regulatory Authority, NCT of Delhi, 14th Floor, Vikas Minar, DDA Building, New Delhi - 110002 Page 6 of 6