Central Information Commission
Satyendra Nath Dutta vs Union Public Service Commission on 9 November, 2016
CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
2nd Floor, August Kranti Bhawan,
Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi-110066
Decision No. CIC/SB/A/2015/000285
Dated 04.11.2016
Appellant : Shri Satyendra Nath Dutta,
Assistant (Vigilance),
Deptt. Of Empowerment of Persons
With Disabilities,
5th Floor, B-2 Wing,
Paryavaran Bhawan,
CGO Complex, New Delhi-110003.
Respondent : Central Public Information Officer,
Union Public Service Commission,
Dholpur House,
Shahjahan Road,
New Delhi-110069.
Date of Hearing : 04 .11.2016
Relevant dates emerging from the appeal:
RTI application filed on : 05.05.2015
CPIO's reply : 18.05.2015
First appeal filed on : 21.05.2015
FAA's order : 05.06.2015
Second appeal filed on : 19.06.2015
ORDER
1. Shri Satyendra Nath Dutta filed an application dated 05.05.2015 under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public CIC/SB/A/2015/000285 Page 1 Information Officer (CPIO), Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) seeking information on five points relating to Section Officers'/Stenographers'(Grade- B/Grade-I) Limited Departmental Competitive Examination - 2014, including (1) whether he was the only candidate whose candidature was cancelled/rejected immediately before the commencement of S.O's/Stenos' (Grade-B/Grade-I) Limited Departmental Competitive Examination, 2014 and (2) whether cancellation on the ground of final non-submission of online detailed application as per instructions to the candidates and hiding out the warning of UPSC at the bottom of each and every page of the hard copy of online application and tampering with and forgery are one and the same thing.
2. The appellant filed a second appeal dated 19.06.2015 before the Commission on the grounds that instead of furnishing transparent and credible information to him on the issues raised by him in his RTI application, the First Appellate Authority (FAA) has tried to be an autocrat and a protagonist whose stances can neither be questioned nor be investigated by the competent software engineers, computer experts and forensic experts afresh with a view to unfold the mystery behind the whole episode relating to rejection of his candidature. The appellant requested the Commission to take the CPIO and FAA, UPSC to task and force them to be credible, transparent and accountable to the people of India in public interest and in terms of the RTI Act, 2005.
Hearing:
3. Both The appellant Shri Satyendra Nath Dutta and the respondent Shri Shakti Shamsher, Under Secretary, UPSC were present in person.
4. The appellant submitted that information on point nos. 2, 3 and 5 of the RTI application have not been provided to him.
CIC/SB/A/2015/000285 Page 2
5. The respondent submitted that in response to the appellant's RTI application dated 05.05.2015 a reply was furnished vide letter dated 18.05.2015 in which inter-alia, information regarding point no. 4 of the RTI application was provided to the appellant. The respondent further submitted that the appellant's candidature was cancelled on the grounds of non- submission of online application and not on the basis of the hard copy submitted by the candidate. As regards point nos. 2 and 5 of the RTI application, the respondent submitted that the information sought by the appellant are clarificatory in nature and as per the RTI Act the CPIO is required to furnish only the material information available in his custody. Clarifications on hypothetical case in not covered under the scope of the RTI Act. Hence, the information sought by the appellant cannot be provided to him.
Decision:
6. The Commission, after hearing both the parties and perusing the records, directs the respondent to provide information on point nos. 2 (relating to the cancellation of the appellant's candidature) and 3 of the RTI application to the appellant within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
7. With the above observations, the appeal is disposed of.
8. Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
(Sudhir Bhargava) Information Commissioner Authenticated true copy (V.K. Sharma) Designated Officer CIC/SB/A/2015/000285 Page 3