Aggrieved BPL applicant approaches Orissa High Court to assert his right to information
Cuttack- 23.11.2010, Tuesday: Sri Kunja Bihari Patra, a BPL person from Daspalla of Nayagarh district, who applied for certain information under RTI Act in 2008 to adjacent Jagannath Prasad Block in Ganjam District is still unable to access it, even after exhausting every grievance redressal mechanism available under the Act. To claim his legal right so denied to him, Sri Patra has filed a writ petition in Orissa High Court bearing WP (C) No. 20293 of 2010 praying for free of cost supply of the requested information along-with compensation to him and also for a direction to the Office of Governor to enquire into the matter and take appropriate action against the guilty Public Information Officer who denied the information and the concerned Information Commissioner who covered up the mala-fide act of the said officer.
In his petition Sri Patra has alleged that apprehending large-scale corruption in the construction of Chinapahnara to Badagunduri Road undertaken by Jagannath Prasad Block during 2004 to 2008, he submitted an RTI application dated 29.05.2008 to the PIO of the said Block asking for details of road construction including copies of Work Orders, Muster Rolls, Accounts and tour diaries of monitoring Officials. Since he didn't receive any reply even after waiting for nearly 3 months, Sri Patra lodged a Complaint against the Block PIO before Orissa Information Commission on 25.08.2008, which was duly registered as CC No.1289/08. After a lapse of about a year, the then Chief Orissa Information Commissioner Sri D.N.Padhi conducted the first hearing of the case, where the PIO flatly denied the receipt of any RTI application from Sri Patra. The Commission however directed the PIO to supply the requested information as per the fresh application to be submitted by the applicant. On receipt of the second application, the PIO, without giving any break-up of the payable amount as warranted under Section 7(3), asked Patra to deposit a lump-sum of Rupees one thousand towards the cost of information. But Sri Patra who had provided the proof of his BPL status along with his RTI application, made a representation before the PIO saying that being a BPL person he was exempt from paying any fees towards cost of information as per Section 7(5) of RTI Act, and therefore entitled to the requested information free of cost.
However, in the next hearing the Chief OSIC Sri Padhi not only rejected the plea of appellant Sri Patra, but also passed an unsavoury remark casting aspersion on the BPL status of the appellant. Further, as if to add salt to the injuries, Sri Padhi in the final hearing held on 21st June 2010, declared in his verdict that Sri Patra has meanwhile received all information and that too free of cost from the PIO, and the case was therefore closed. Sri Patra, who in fact didn't receive any information by then, felt greatly aggrieved by the said verdict. Thus having been thoroughly disillusioned by the highest appellate authority of the state's RTI regime, Sri Patra appealed to the Governor Orissa through his two successive petitions dated 18 and 20 September 2010 to enquire into the whole matter and take appropriate action against both PIO and concerned Information Commissioner for their complicity in the illegal act of denial of information to him. However, the Governor, instead of getting the enquiry done by the Supreme Court as mandated under Section 17(1) of RTI Act, forwarded the above two petitions on 16th October last to the State Dept of Information & Public Relations for taking 'needful action'. More than two months elapsed since Sri Patra approached Governor for justice, but neither has he received any information or compensation, nor any disciplinary action taken against the guilty PIO and concerned Information Commissioner till date. Thus, disappointed from all quarters, Sri Patra has moved the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court with a great hope of justice to be done to a beleaguered BPL applicant for RTI like him. Advocate Sri Khirod Rout is conducting the case on behalf Sri Patra.
N.A.Shah Ansari
Konark, Puri Dist, Orissa
India-752111
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