Central Information Commission
Jagdish Patil vs Lok Sabha Secretariat on 22 April, 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/LOKSS/A/2017/162066
Jagdish Patil ... अपीलकता /Appellant
VERSUS
बनाम
CPIO, Lok Sabha Secretariat, ... ितवादीगण /Respondents
Information Cell, Parliament
House, New Delhi
O/o The Member of Parliament,
Bidar Constituency, Shivnagar
South Bidar, Karnataka
Relevant dates emerging from the appeal:
RTI : 09.06.2017 FA : 22.07.2017 SA : 29.08.2017
CPIO : 07.08.2017 FAO : No order Hearing : 18.04.2019
ORDER
1. The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the O/o Member of Parliament, Bidar Constituency, Shivnagar South Bidar, Karnataka seeking information on seven points pertaining to a petition Page 1 of 4 dated 23.05.2017 filed with the O/o Member of Parliament, Bidar Constituency, Karnataka, including, inter-alia, (i) status of the above-mentioned petition and (ii) a copy of day to day work progress chart regarding the said petition.
2. The appellant filed a second appeal before the Commission on the grounds that no information has been provided to him and instead of the FAA, the CAPIO has adjudicated on his first appeal. The appellant requested the Commission to direct the CPIO to provide the information sought for and impose a penalty upon the CPIO and also to award compensation to the appellant against the loss and detriment suffered by him.
Hearing:
3. The appellant Shri Jagdish Patil attended the hearing through video conferencing. The respondent Shri K. Sona, Deputy Secretary and CAPIO, Lok Sabha Secretariat, Information Cell, Parliament House, New Delhi was present in person.
4. The appellant submitted that he filed an RTI application before the O/o Member of Parliament, Bidar Constituency, Shivnagar South Bidar, Karnataka seeking the status/action taken on his petition dated 23.05.2017. However, no information was provided to him. He stated that a Member of Parliament is a public representative and hence, he should come under the purview of the RTI Act.
5. The respondent submitted that the appellant filed a first appeal dated 22.07.2017 before the O/o Lok Sabha Secretariat, Information Cell, Parliament House, New Delhi alleging that no information was provided by the O/o The Member of Parliament, Bidar Constituency, Shivnagar South Bidar, Karnataka Page 2 of 4 against the RTI application. He stated that as the O/o The Member of Parliament, Bidar Constituency, Shivnagar South Bidar, Karnataka is not a public authority under the RTI Act, the Member of Parliament has no CPIO in the office. The appellant was informed accordingly vide letter dated 07.08.2017.
Decision:
6. The Commission, after hearing the submissions of both the parties and perusing the records, observes that as per the respondent, the O/o Member of Parliament, Bidar Constituency, Shivnagar South Bidar, Karnataka is not a public authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. The Commission further observes that for an organization to be amenable to the provisions of the RTI Act, it has to be declared a 'Public Authority'. As per the Hon'ble Supreme Court's Decision in the case of Thalappalam Service Cooperative Bank Limited v. State of Kerala, Civil Appeal No. 9017/2013 dated 07.10.2013, the onus is on the appellant to establish that the 'O/o The Member of Parliament, Bidar Constituency, Shivnagar South Bidar, Karnataka' is a public authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. However, the appellant has not been able to discharge this onus. The Commission observes that since the 'O/o The Member of Parliament, Bidar Constituency, Shivnagar South Bidar, Karnataka' has not been declared a public authority under the RTI Act, no further intervention of the Commission is required in the matter.
7. With the above observations, the appeal is disposed of.Page 3 of 4
8. Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
Sudhir Bhargava (सुधीर भागव)व) Chief Information Commissioner (मु य सूचना आयु ) दनांक / Date 22.04.2019 Authenticated true copy (अिभ मािणत स यािपत ित) S. S. Rohilla (एस. एस. रोिह ला) Dy. Registrar (उप-पंजीयक) 011-26186535 / [email protected] Addresses of the parties:
1. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) Lok Sabha Secretariat, Information Cell, Parliament House, New Delhi-110001
2. The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Lok Sabha Secretariat, Information Cell, Parliament House, New Delhi-110001
3. Shri Jagdish Patil Page 4 of 4