Central Information Commission
Dr. Sandeep Kumar Gupta vs Ministry Of New And Renewable Energy on 15 June, 2020
Author: Neeraj Kumar Gupta
Bench: Neeraj Kumar Gupta
केन्द्रीय सच
ू ना आयोग
Central Information Commission
बाबा गंगनाथ मागग,मनु नरका
Baba Gangnath Marg, Munirka
नई दिल्ली, New Delhi - 110067
द्वितीय अपील संख्या / Second Appeal No. CIC/MNRES/A/2019/600856
Dr. Sandeep Kumar Gupta ... अपीलकताग/Appellant
VERSUS
बनाम
CPIO, M/o New & Renewable ...प्रनतिािी/Respondent
Energy, New Delhi.
Relevant dates emerging from the appeal:
RTI : 07-01-2019 FA : 11-01-2019 SA: 15-01-2019
CPIO : 11-01-2019 FAO : 15-01-2019 Hearing: 08-06-2020
ORDER
1. The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), M/o New & Renewable Energy, New Delhi seeking following information:-
"1. Please supply me the generation data in list mode concerning M/s Sun Astra Energy Solutions Private Limited (Agency code: 1288) for the period since 01.09.2017 as mandated under the guidelines issued by MNRE."
2. The CPIO responded on 11-01-2019. The appellant filed the first appeal dated 11-01-2019 which was disposed of by the first appellate authority on 15-01- 2019. Thereafter, he filed a second appeal u/Section 19(3) of the RTI Act before the Commission requesting to take appropriate legal action against the CPIO u/Section 20 of the RTI Act, 2005 and also to direct him to provide the sought for information.
Page 1 of 5Hearing:
3. The appellant, Dr. Sandeep Kumar Gupta participated in the hearing through audio conferencing. Mr. Hiren Borah, 'Scientist D' participated in the hearing representing the respondent through audio conferencing. The written submissions are taken on record.
4. The appellant contended that M/s Sun Astra Energy Solutions Private Limited should have published the generation data on its website as per the guidelines issued by the M/o New & Renewable Energy. However, it has not been done. Therefore, the respondent should be directed to provide him this information after collecting it from M/s Sun Astra Energy Solutions Private Limited. He quoted the decision of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in W.P.(C) 12388/2018 with regard to the information of a private body which can be accessed by a public authority. He also referred to the decision dated 07-10-2013 pronounced by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of 'Thalappalam Ser. Coop. Bank Ltd. and others v. State of Kerala.
5. The respondent submitted that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy had issued operational guidelines for the empaneled channel partners. The generation data of the projects commissioned by the channel partner was not required to be submitted to the Ministry and, therefore, the same was not available with the concerned grid connected rooftop solar division of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). Hence, the information of a private body which was not required to be submitted to the public authority under any of the provisions could not be accessed by the public authority for the purpose of providing it to the RTI applicant. Moreover, the guidelines were advisory in nature for which there was no sanction or penalty. As such, it was nowhere obligatory on the part of the channel partner to submit the details of the generation data to the MNRE.
6. Further, the respondent submitted that the channel partner empanelment system has now been discontinued w.e.f. 23-11-2017 much before the appellant had filed his RTI application in January 2019. Even the guidelines on the basis of which information is being sought have been discontinued. Therefore, the question of collecting information from M/s Sun Astra Energy Solutions Private Limited is infructuous.
Decision:
7. At the outset, this Commission refers to the definition of 'information' u/Section 2(f) of the RTI Act, 2005 which reads as follows:-
"information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, pinions, advices, press releases, Page 2 of 5 circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, report, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force."
8. The aforesaid definition shows that an applicant under Section 6 of the RTI Act, 2005 can get the information which is already in existence and accessible to the public authority under any law. Therefore, the legal issue to be decided herein is; (i) whether the information was already in existence with the public authority, and (ii) whether the information was accessible by the M/o New & Renewable Energy from M/s Sun Astra Energy Solutions Private Limited under any law. In this context, the respondent has already submitted that the generation data was not available with them. Also, the respondent could not have mandatorily accessed the generation data of M/s Sun Astra Energy Solutions Private Limited under any law. The guidelines issued by the MNRE did not have any sanction and more so, these were advisory in nature. Hence, the contention put forth by the appellant with regard to providing the generation data after collecting it from M/s Sun Astra Energy Solutions Private Limited is devoid of any merit. This legal position has been supported by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in its decision dated 04- 01-2010 in SLP(C) No. 34868 of 2009 titled as Khanapuram Gandaiah v. Administrative Officer & ors., wherein, it was held as under:-
"7...Under Section 6 of the RTI Act, an applicant is entitled to get only such information which can be accessed by the "public authority" under any other law for the time being in force. The answers sought by the petitioner in the application could not have been with the public authority nor could he have had access to this information and Respondent No. 4 was not obliged to give any reasons as to why he had taken such a decision in the matter which was before him."
9. In light of the factual matrix of the case and the legal principles enunciated in the judgment of Khanapuram Gandaiah (supra), this Commission comes to the conclusion that the case-laws referred by the appellant are not applicable to the facts of the case since the public authority could not have accessed the generation data of M/s Sun Astra Energy Solutions Private Limited under any law and it was also not originally available with the public authority. Hence, no further intervention of the Commission is required in the matter.
10. With the above observations, the appeal is disposed of.
Page 3 of 511. Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
Neeraj Kumar Gupta ( )
Information Commissioner (सच
ू ना आयक्
ु त)
दिनांक / Date 08-06-2020
Authenticated true copy
(अभिप्रमाणित सत्यावपत प्रनत)
S. C. Sharma (एस. स . ),
Dy. Registrar (उप-पंजीयक),
(011-26105682)
Page 4 of 5
Addresses of the parties:
1. The CPIO,
M/o New & Renewable Energy,
Nodal CPIO, RTI Cell, Block No. 14,
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi -110003.
2. Dr. Sandeep Kumar Gupta,
Page 5 of 5