Pawan Kumar Nirola of Malerkotla, received a reply for his
RTI application after a delay of 10 months from SBI Chandigarh. Aggrieved over the delay, the complainant sent a complaint to
CIC , seeking for invoking the penal provisions of the
RTI Act against the concerned official.
The CPIO submitted that the
RTI application had been misplaced in the bank and as soon as it was traced, the information sought by the appellant had been provided and there was no deliberate or intentional delay. He also submitted that explanation has been called for from the concerned official who had delayed the information and action would be taken against him as per rules.
The Commission did not impose any penalty on the erring official as the bank has already proposed taking action against the said official. However, the Commission awarded that the Bank shall pay a sum of Rs 1000 to the complainant for the efforts that he had made in pursuing his complaint.
Decision No. 1050/ICPB/2007 dated 30/10/2007 on Appeal from Mr. Pawan Kumar Nirola Vs State Bank of India