CIC warns ministry on delay

[wehelp]

CIC warns ministry on delay

as published in Deccan chronicle

New Delhi, Aug. 12: The Central Information Commission has asked Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta to warn a ministry official not to delay responding to RTI applications. "It is recommended to Madhukar Gupta, secretary, MHA, that he issue a warning under the civil service conduct rule to P.K. Kaul to ensure that his disposal of RTI applications in future adheres to the requirement of the act," chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said.

The commission passed its direction after it was pointed out that Mr Kaul had not replied to a RTI plea filed by Swaran Kaur on the issue of freedom fighters’ pension. Mr Kaul cannot escape the responsibility for servicing this application as he became aware of it on the day he took charge, Mr Habibullah said.

Taking a serious view of the delay in processing the RTI application, the CIC said that the liability of Mr Kaul arose from his inability to enforce his own orders which were to be complied with by section officer D.K. Saxena. During the hearing, Mr Saxena wrote a letter to the CIC regretting the "inadvertent" delay in responding to Mr Kaur’s RTI plea.