Title - CR official pays for ‘careless’ reply to RTI query

A reply to a Right to Information (RIT) request, which the Chief Information Commission (CIC) termed “careless and light hearted,” cost a senior Central Railway (CR) official Rs2,000.

The CIC recently directed the senior divisional commercial manager of the Solapur division, CR to pay a compensation of Rs2,000 to one BR Jogdankar for failing to provide him with a proper reply to his query. He was asked to pay this sum as his actions “obstructed the supply of information to the appellant” and also to make up for what he had “to suffer in terms of time and money”.

In September 2011, Jogdankar, a resident of Karnataka, had sought information against six points with respect to the cleanliness of Gulbarga station in Karnataka. The application had been forwarded by the Public Information Officer (PIO) to the accused railways official and based on the information he provided, Jogdankar received a one line reply from them. It said: “The cleanliness work of Gulbarga station is being managed departmentally.”

Unsatisfied with this reply, Jogdankar filed his first appeal and on not receiving a reply from the Appellate Authority, he filed his second appeal before the CIC. The CIC directed the PIO to provide him with the information that he sought.In case the respondents fail to comply with the order, the CIC has given Jogdankar the liberty to approach them again.