The CIC has the jurisdiction to impose a penalty under Section 20(1) of the Right to Information Act, and the CPIO cannot escape liability by forwarding requests to other departments under Section 6(3) of the Act.

Vibhu Bakhru, J.

CM No.14800/2014 & 14801/2014

Exemption is allowed subject to all just exceptions. The applications stand disposed of.

W.P.(C) No.6088/2014 & CM No.14799/2014 (Stay)

1. The petitioners have filed the present petition impugning orders dated 11.03.2013 and 04.04.2014 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘impugned orders’) passed by the Central Information Commissioner (CIC). By the impugned order dated 11.03.2013, the CIC held that information sought by the respondent had not been provided and earlier orders of the CIC had also not been complied with. The petitioners sought a review of the order dated 11.03.2013, which was rejected by the CIC by the impugned order dated 04.04.2014, on the ground that the CIC did not have any power to review its decisions.

2. The petitioners have assailed the impugned order dated 11.03.2013 contending that the CIC erred in imposing penalty pursuant to proceedings that had been filed by the respondent directly before the CIC without approaching the First Appellate Authority (FAA). It was submitted that a direct appeal against denial of information by Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) or a grievance with regard to non-supply of information could not be agitated before the CIC without first exhausting the remedies of appeal before the FAA. It was contended that, in these circumstances, the penalty imposed by CIC was without jurisdiction.

3. It was further contended that in the given facts and circumstances of the case, the CPIO could not be held liable or responsible for not providing information since the CPIO had forwarded the request of the respondent to the concerned departments. The learned counsel for the petitioners relied upon Section 6(3) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act’) to contend that a CPIO is required to transfer an application for information to the concerned authority and cannot be expected to pursue the matter thereafter. It was, thus, submitted that the CIC had erred in imposing of penalty on petitioner no.2.

4. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioners.

5. Section 20 of the Act provides for imposing penalty on a Central Public Information Officer or a State Public Information Officer. The opening sentence of Section 20(1) of the Act clearly indicates that in given cases penalty may be imposed where the CIC “at the time of deciding any complaint or an appeal is of the opinion that the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer” has without reasonable cause refused to receive an application or failed to furnish the information within the specified time. Section 20(1) of the Act is quoted below:-

“20. Penalties.—(1) Where the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be, at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is of the opinion that the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, has, without any reasonable cause, refused to receive an application for information or has not furnished information within the time specified under sub-section (1) of section 7 or malafidely denied the request for information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroyed information which was the subject of the request or obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information, it shall impose a penalty of two hundred and fifty rupees each day till application is received or information is furnished, so however, the total amount of such penalty shall not exceed twenty-five thousand rupees:

Provided that the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before any penalty is imposed on him:

Provided further that the burden of proving that he acted reasonably and diligently shall be on the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as the