PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The State Information commissioner Yogesh Bhatt stated that the right to seek information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act can only be exercised by individual citizens. Office-bearers of institutions, unions, firms or organisations cannot seek information under the RTI Act on behalf of their respective bodies.
This clarification came during the hearing of an appeal filed by Harendra Singh of Rudrapur, who had submitted an RTI application as the president of Karolia Lighting Employees Union, Udham Singh Nagar. The application was made on the union’s letterhead, using the union’s office address.
The order issued by Bhatt on Wednesday stated that the Public Information Officer (PIO), assistant labour commissioner, had allowed Singh to inspect documents and claimed that the information had been provided free of cost. However, the commission found that the PIO did not properly examine the application.
The commissioner noted that under the RTI Act, the right to information is granted only to Indian citizens. Institutions, unions or organisations are not considered citizens and cannot file applications under the Act through their representatives. While individuals who are office-bearers may seek information in their personal capacity, they cannot do so on behalf of their organisations. Bhatt expressed serious objections to the failure of the PIO and the First Appellate Authority, the deputy labour commissioner, to process the application and the appeal in accordance with the RTI provisions. He issued a strict warning to then PIO Arvind Saini for not ensuring whether the RTI request was admissible.
The Commission criticised the First Appellate Authority for not examining whether the original RTI application met the requirements of the Act. The Commission reminded that the hearing of the first appeal is a quasi-judicial process. It is the responsibility of the First Appellate Authority to determine if the original request complies with the RTI provisions.
A strict warning was also issued to the then departmental First Appellate Authority for not handling the appeal in accordance with the Act. Bhatt in his order instructed the appellant to file future RTI applications only in an individual capacity and not as a representative of any organisation or union.
