New Delhi, July 24 (IANS) An RTI applicant has no locus standi in penalty proceedings initiated against a public information officer (PIO) for denying or furnishing incorrect information, ruled the Delhi High Court.
“The formation of opinion under Section 20(2) of the RTI Act (regarding the imposition of penalties) is in the exercise of supervisory powers of CIC and not in the exercise of the adjudicatory powers. This Court is also of the view that the information seeker has no locus standi in penalty proceedings under Section 20 of the RTI Act,” observed a bench presided over by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan.
The Bench, also comprising Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, was considering an appeal filed against a decision rendered by a single-judge bench, which had dismissed the plea of the appellant seeking imposition of penalty on the concerned officials for furnishing incorrect replies to his application made under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The single-judge bench had rejected the appellant’s plea, saying that correct information had already been provided to him and departmental action had been initiated against the erring officials under the applicable service rules.
The appellant, appearing in person, contended that he not only provided a wrong reply but there was also an inordinate delay of three years in providing correct information.
The division bench ruled that the Central Information Commission (CIC) was well entitled in its discretion not to direct imposition of monetary penalty, especially, when the information sought by the appellant had been directed to be provided to him.
–IANS
pds/dpb
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
