PIO tries to "bribe" a appelant !!!

[karira]

Yes folks, this is unbelievable, BUT true !
Read the following decision of the CIC to see
how PIO (respondent) tried to bribe the
appelant.
The world has indeed come a full circle !
Now babus have to bribe the citizens.

http://cic.gov.in/CIC-Orders/Decision_18052007_16.pdf

[ganpat1956]

It is really sickening to read about this PIO, Gloria Kumar. She has already been pulled up by the CIC on a few earlier occasions. In one decision during this year, she was imposed a fine of Rs16000/= for the deliberate delay in providing the information. In respect of another appeal, the CIC has even directed the Joint Secretary in the MEA to take necessary administrative actions against this PIO & RPO, Delhi, and also inform the Commission about the action taken.

It is time the CIC is vested with sufficient powers to initiate appropriate penal actions against such erring officials.

[karira]

Here are the relevant portions of the decision:

15. The case shows that the Respondents are not above 'bribing' the
Applicants in order to induce them to mislead the Commission to avoid a
penalty. This bribe may be in any form including a monetary one. This would
indeed seem to be an easy and profitable bargain for both the parties: one
getting the money and the other escaping penalty. The only loser would be
public morality, which it is the duty of the Commission to protect and promote.
16. The Commission feels that this point should be emphasized for, this
means that the Commission, in such cases, becomes an indirect party for
promoting corruption – the very phenomenon the RTI Act and the Commission
are supposed to effectively curb and contain.

But, please go through the entire decision...it will make interesting reading.

[karira]

Ganpat,

In addition to what you said, I sometimes wonder what happens to the conscience of such people ? Even if they are hauled up in public they continue to behave the same way. Makes me wonder if the Government recruits the wrong kind of people or is it that they do not get properly trained.

[ganpat1956]

Nothing wrong with recruitment or training. It is simply the individual's lure for lucre. Many do not have the moral courage to resist the temptation. With the result, honest officers get side-lined and end up as the odd men.

[ha21]

This is what the Information Commissioner O.E Kejriwal, has observed as it appeared in "Hindustan Times" dated : 24th May 2007.

Titled : Sweet revenge : babu's turn to bribe.

THE RIGHT to Information Act was intended to curb corruption. But it seems there have been occasions when it has been misused to promote corruption, according to watchdog body Central Information Commission. The commission observed in a recent order that there have been cases where it suspected that government officials, to avoid paying penalties, had bribed RTI applicants to withdraw their complaints. Information Commissioner O.E Kejriwal made the observation while hearing a complaint against the Regional Passport Office, Delhi. He suspected the complainant Sunder Lal was induced to change his stance. "The commission in such cases, be- comes an indirect party for promoting corruption - the very phenomenon the RTI Act and the commission are supposed to curb and contain," Kejriwal said in his order on May 18. In July 2006, Lal had sought a reply to 12 Queries from the passport office under the RTI Act. The Act stipulates that the information has to be given within 30 days. Lal filed a complaint in January 2007 saying he had not heard from the passport office. But when the commission started hearing his case on May 15, Lal said he had received the information within the deadline. Kejriwal suspected a deal and asked Lal for documentary proof. Lal replied that the information had been provided verbally. 'The cat is out of the bag," Kejriwal said in his order. "It is clear that there has been a tacit understanding between the two parties based on some kind of gratification," Kejriwal said. He noted that both parties had gained: one got the money and the other escaped paying a fine, which could be up to Rs 25,000. Later, Lal admitted be- fore the commission that he got no information from the passport office. Passport Officer Gloria Kumar had no answer when asked to explain the reasons for the delay in providing the information.

[ganpat1956]

ha21,
I suggest that you go through the full decision of the CIC, by clicking open the link in the original thread of karira.

[maneesh]

I read the whole thing in the HT today in morning.

Indeed it a very surprising development. I hope this will open the eyes of the PIOs all around.

I believe education of the lower functionary of Govt. department is required as the information is churned out at lower level.

PIO sitting at the top can only take disciplinary action against a staff who is with holding the information. And further add to its work.

All PIO should use Section 5(5) of the RTI act while collecting the information with the department so that for the delay all people who are responsible are penalized.

[ha21]

The following article appeared on 24th May, 2007, in Times of India. The contents prove the bias towards RTI and the attempt to intimidate the authorities enforcing RTI, by unwarranted and cheap allegations. Comments and solutions invited on handling such allegations.


Titled : RTI regulator accused of gender bias


New Delhi: Former regional passport officer of Delhi, Gloria Kumar, has levelled charges of “a general bias and perverted overtones” against information commissioner O P Kejariwal who had imposed a penalty of Rs 16,000 under the RTI Act.
<!----> <!---->The provocation for such an outburst in a writ petition filed before Delhi high court was an order passed by Kejariwal in March pulling up Gloria Kumar for delaying information on extension of passport sought by a 90-year-old widow, Krishna Devi Jhalani.
<!----> <!---->Passing strictures on Gloria Kumar, Kejariwal had said: “Could there be a more callous and apathetic attitude of a government servant towards not just a member of the public but also a statutory body like the information commissioner? It is such officers who bring a bad name to the bureaucracy and tarnish its image.”
<!----> <!---->Denying that there was any negligence on her part (personally as opposed to that of the department), Gloria Kumar attributed the strictures and penalty to Kejariwal’s “highhandedness”. She said that during hearings in the Central Information Commission (CIC), Kejariwal “makes women officers feel in a awkward position. His manner of making observations is something which is not in tune with the ethics and manners which one, as a statutory authority, is required to show to a woman officer”.
<!----> <!---->This is the way Gloria Kumar reconstructed a hearing that took place in December in Jhalani’s case: Kejariwal first commented on her religion saying, “Oh! So you are a Christian.” Making “uncalled for” comments on her name and surname, “he went on to ask me about my parents saying, how come you are a Christian if your mother was Christian and father was a Hindu? That means that your mother must be the dominating factor.”
<!----> <!---->Worse, “Kejariwal also repeatedly asked me as to how often my husband visited India. He also commented on my parents and my age. His conduct was far more humiliating and reflected a general bias and perverted overtones. Seeing that he was getting into personal aspects relating to me, I very firmly told him that I have come here to make my submissions and not discuss personal matters with him”.
<!----> <!---->Sensational as it is, Gloria Kumar’s writ petition against Kejariwal, who has earned the reputation of being the most assertive member of CIC, may help revive the bureaucracy’s attempt to dilute the RTI Act.

[karira]

All attempts by the Government or the Officers to dilute the RTI Act, in any way, should be strongly resisted.
In fact, if anything else, the act should actually be strengthened.

[ha21]

The following article as it appeared in "Hindustan Times" dated : 25th May 2007. It mirror's (shows) the tactics the bureaucrat's can use to circumvent their duties n responsibilities as a PIO.
Comments n solutions, please.

1) ANYBODY, any idea whether the "CIC" has the jurisdiction to order any judicial / CBI inquiry into such allegations.
2) Is there any provision in the RTI, to have cases transferred from one SIC / IC to another ?


Titled : TRANSFER RTI cases : ex-passport officer.
Former regional passport officer, Delhi, Gloria Kumar has asked Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Wajahat Habibullah to transfer cases against her from the court of Information Commissioner O.E Kejriwal to any other commissioner

The plea is part of the petition Kumar had filed in the Delhi High Court, seeking to quash the penalty imposed on her in the Krishna Devi Jalani case. Kumar was fined Rs 25,000 in one case and penalty notices were is sued in two more cases.
Kumar urged Habibullah to protect a woman officer from the "on-going harassment" and expressed fear that she would not get "fair treatment" at the hands of Kejriwal. "A full Bench, which I have requested, be constituted at the earliest and none of my cases be put up before O.P. Kejriwal, and the cases pending be also transferred to any other information commissioner or the CIC," she requested.
The petition to be heard on Friday also states that the penalty imposed on her was not correct because she was not responsible for the delay in giving information in the Jalani case.
She claimed that when she had said that she could move the High Court against the penalty imposed, Kejriwal had told her the cost of litigation would be higher than the penalty amount.
She also denied that the RTI applications submitted to her were not answered.