A Writ Petition has been filed in the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench by Dr Nutan Thakur, Convener of National RTI Forum against Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission and Chief Secretary, UP.
Here she has presented two cases related with her husband Amitabh Thakur, an IPS officer in Uttar Pradesh where the UP State Information Commission initially imposed penalty under section 20(1) and section 20(2) of the RTI Act and later improperly changed its own decision. In the first case, Thakur requested the Public Information Officer to provide copies of his ACRs and later approached the State Information Commission. V K Saxena, Information Commissioner gave the PIO many opportunities to provide information before he finally imposed penalty of Rs. 250 per day up to the maximum limit of Rs. 25,000. When the PIO again failed in his duty, Saxena ordered the Principal Secretary (Home) to initiate Departmental enquiry against the PIO. But surprisingly, the same Saxena went against the provisions of law and completely exonerated the PIO finding his explanation satisfactory.
In another instance, Amitabh had requested the PIO of the Home Department about his study leave matter. After some hearings, Ranjit Singh Pankaj, CIC ordered imposition of penalty. Thakur send a copy of this order to Principal Secretary (Home) and the Chief Secretary. Here again, when the PIO presented some explanation to CIC, Pankaj revoked the penalty.
Based on these facts Dr Nutan Thakur has requested the High Court to give certain directions to the Respondents. The first is that when a quasi-judicial authority like the State Information Commission, as per the provision of the Right to Information Act 2005, cannot overturn its own decision under section 20(1) and section 20(2) of the Act, which it gave after the due process and procedure adopted in accordance with law, it shall be ordered not to change its own orders. Secondly, the State Information Commission be directed that it shall send an order of Penalty given by it immediately, otherwise it creates a lots of anomalies and confusion. Third prayer is that the senior State government officials who, through any source, have obtained information about imposition of penalty by the State Information Commission against any PIO, shall be made responsible and accountable for implementing it.
Dr Nutan Thakur,
Convener,
National RTI forum,
Lucknow
94155-34525
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