Central Information Commission
Mrvenkatesh Nayak vs Government Of Nct Of Delhi on 14 November, 2014
CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
(Room No.315, BWing, August Kranti Bhawan, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi 110 066)
CIC/SS/A/2013/001155SA
Appellant : Venkatesh Nayak
Respondent : Tihar Jail
Date of hearing : 7.11.2014
Date of decision : 14.11.2014
Information Commissioner : Prof. M. Sridhar Acharyulu
(Madabhushi Sridhar)
Referred Sections : Section 3, 19(3) of the
RTI Act
Result : Appeal allowed/
Disposed of
Heard on 7.11.14. Appellant present. Respondent is represented by Shri Navin Kumar Saxena.
2. The appellant vide his RTI application dt 26.12.2012 seeking copy of latest version of Tihar Jail Manual; rules, regulation, policies etc issued for premature release of pensioners; resubmission of sentences of prisoners housed in Tihar Jail; reason for the inactive status of the links to RTI Manuals. CPIO replies on 22.1.2013. Being unsatisfied with the CPIO reply, the appellant made appeal on 12.2.2013. FAA vide order dt12.3.2013 disposed off the matter by providing all 1 information. Being unsatisfied with the information provided, the appellant made second appeal before the Commission.
3. During the hearing, the Appellant submitted that the the website www.tiharprison.nic.in , provided to him, does not exist.An alternative URL www.tiharprisoners.nic.in is in existance but that website asks for username and password for granting access. The Commission also checked the website and found that the Appellant's statement is true. The Respondent submitted that they would look into the matter and resolve it within a week.
4. The Appellant further contended that Respondent has uploaded a series of webpages containing information about its activities on the official website of GNCTD which is accessible at:
http://www.delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/lib_centraljail/Central+Jail/Home/About+ Us.
He added that the RTI manuals uploaded on the website do not contain the complete text of the latest version of Tihal jail Prison manual nor do they contain information such as rules, regulations, guidelines and policies about the premature release of prisoners. He added that while he received a copy of the prison manual from the FAA, he wanted the entire manual to be uploaded on the website.
5. It is the Appellant's contention that budget figures displayed have not been updated since March 2013. He also wanted to know whether the minutes of the meetings of the boards/committees are accessible to the public. Wherever the same can be made public, he wanted the Respondent to disclose the same in an 2 indexed and catalogued manner on the official website for the general public to access the same conveniently.
6. The Appellant also requested the Commission to direct the Respondent to place all details of persons authorised to be released from prisons under its custody as per the Supreme Court order dt.5.9.14 [2014(4)RCR(Criminal)234] in the matter of Bhim Singh Vs Union of India, in which Supreme court directed the operationalisation of a mechanism for releasing prison inmated who are under trial as per the procedure provided under 436ª of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.
7. With reference to disclosure of stock position of medicines available for the use of prison inmates, Appellant contended that the same does not indicate any reference date for the stock position. He wanted the Commission to direct the Respondent to include the date on which all information displayed on the official website is updated for the reference of the general public. Section 4(1) of the RTI Act says:
Every public authority shall
(a) maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information under this Act and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerised are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerised and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated;
By creating a website and putting huge information in that public domain for the people to access is the action of compliance of the above provision of RTI Act. The 3 RTI Act provided reasonable time and subjected it to availability of resources for fulfilling the direction under Section 4(1)(a). As public authority has fulfilled the mandate, its updation, removing difficulties in access and uploading the latest or revised information will become mandatory on the part of respondent public authority along with the date of updation of each updation. After having complied with 4(1)(a), they will have a legal responsibility to continue it. The Commission thus directs the Respondent public authority to make website accessible within one week.
(b) publish within one hundred and twenty days from the enactment of this Act,
(i) the particulars of its organisation, functions and duties;
(ii) the powers and duties of its officers and employees;
(iii) the procedure followed in the decision making process, including channels of supervision and accountability;
(iv) the norms set by it for the discharge of its functions;
(v) the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records, held by it or under its control or used by its employees for discharging its functions;
(vi) a statement of the categories of documents that are held by it or under its control;
(vii) the particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation with, or representation by, the members of the public in telation to the formulation of its policy or implementation thereof;
(viii) a statement of the boards, councils, committees and other bodies consisting of two or more persons constituted as its part or for the purpose of its advice, and as to whether meetings of those boards, councils, committees and other bodies are open to the public, or the minutes of such meetings are accessible for public;
(ix) a director of its officers and employees;
(x) the monthly remuneration received by each of its officers
and employees, including the system of compensation as provided in its regulations;
(xi) the budget allocated to each of its agency, indicating the particulars of all plans, proposed expenditures and reports on disbursements made;
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(xii) the manner of execution of subsidy programmes, including the amounts allocated and the details of beneficiaries of such programmes;
(xiii) particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations granted by it;
(xiv) details in respect of the information, available to or held by it, reduced in an electronic form;
(xv) the particulars of facilities available to citizens for obtaining information, including the working hours of a library or reading room, if maintained for public use; (xvi) the names, designations and other particulars of the Public Information Officers;
(xvii) such other information as may be prescribed, and thereafter update these publications every year;
(c) publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect public;
(d) provide reasons for its administrative or quasi judicial decisions to affected persons.
As it was contended by appellant and agreed by respondent, the Commission directs the respondents to provide complete text of latest version of Tihar Prison Mannual along with Rules, Regulations, Guidelines. The policy of releasing prisoners being a new one, the Commission directs the respondent to place in public domain all details of persons authorised to be released from prisons under its custody as per the Supreme Court order dt.5.9.14 [2014(4)RCR(Criminal)234] as provided under 436A of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. As per S 4(1)(b) the public authority has on obligation to place the minutes of the meetings of the boards/committees in public domain, in an indexed and catalogued manner in the official website to make that information accessible to public in general.
Section 4(2) of the RTI Act says:
It shall be a constant endeavour of every public authority to take steps in accordance with the requirements of clause (b) of subsection (1) to provide as much information suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information.5
Section 4(3) of the RTI Act says:
For the purpose of subsection (1) every information shall be disseminated widely and in such form and manner which is easily accessible to the public.
Section 19(8) of the RTI Act says:
In its decsion, the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be, has the power to,
(a) require the public authority to take any such steps as may be necessary to secure compliance with the provisions of this Act, including
(i) by providing access to information, if so requested, in a particular form;
(ii) by appointing a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be;
(iii) by publishing certain information or categories of information;
(iv) by making necessary changes to its practices in relation to the maintenance, management and destruction of records;
(v) by enhancing the provision of training on the right to information for its officials
(vi) by providing it with an annual report in compliance with clause (b) of subsection (1) of Section 4;
(b) require the public authority to compensate the complainant for any loss or other detriment suffered;
(c) impose any of the penalties provided under this Act;
(d) reject the application.
Section 25(5) of the RTI Act says:
If it appears to the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be that the practice of a public authority in relation to the exercise of its functions under this Act does not conform with the provisions or spirit of this Act, it may give to the authority a recommendation specifying the steps which ought in its opinion to be taken for promoting such conformity.6
8. Exercising the power provided under ss 25(5) and 19(8), the Commission after hearing the submissions made directs the Respondent to comply with directions in paragraphs 3 to 7 above and inform appellant about the same.
9. In a very positive step towards accountability and implementation of Right to Information Act, the DOPT, the nodal agency for RTI, notified its Office Memorandum No. 1/1/2013 dated 21.10.2014 directing the Public Authorities to proactively disclose RTI applications and appeals received by them along with responses on their websites. Relevant portion of the memorandum is:
"1. ... Public Authorities have an obligation to pro actively disclose RTI applications and appeals received by them and their responses on the websites.
2...a new feature has been added to the CPIO/FAA's module on the "RTI Online" portal on pilot basis for DoPT. This feature provides an option to the CPIO and FAA toupload the reply to RTI application and first appeal respectively on the website of the Department.
3. This feature is now being extended to other Ministries/Departments of Government of India. For displaying the RTI applications received in the Ministry/Department and the reply furnishing thereof, by7 the use of the said feature, web services would be provided through a URL to each Ministry/Department by NIC/DoPT. The Concerned Ministry/Department needs to consume this web service (by writing a program) to display desired contents on its respective website. ...... An immediate action is requested so that the facility to upload the reply to RTI application and first appeal respectively on the website of the respective Ministry/Departement may be started w.e.f 31.10.2014.
4. It may be noted that RTI applications and appeals received and their responses relating to the personal informatioon of an individual may not be disclosed, if they do not serve any public inteest"7
The Commission directs the respondent authority to put this order and compliance of this order along with the intimation given to the appellant in the website as suggested by the DoPT, so that it can be accessed by general public without resorting to RTI Act.
The Compliance report shall be submitted to the Commission within one month of receipt of this order.
9. The appeal is disposed with the above direction.
Sd/ (M. Sridhar Acharyulu) Information Commissioner Authenticated true copy (Babu Lal) Dy. Registrar 8