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RAJESH SHANKAR
Sanjay Kumar – Appellant
Versus
State of Jharkhand – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
The present writ petition has been filed for quashing the order dated 02.06.2017 (Annexure-12 to the writ petition) passed by the Information Commissioner, Jharkhand State Information Commission [hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commission’], Ranchi-the respondent No.2 in Appeal Case No. 2336 of 2014 whereby a penalty of Rs.25,000/- has been imposed upon the petitioner under Section 20(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 [hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act, 2005’] with a further direction issued to the respondent No.5 to initiate departmental proceeding against him under Section 20(2) of the Act, 2005.
2. Learned Sr. counsel for the petitioner submits that the respondent No.3 had filed an application on 20.06.2014 for providing details of some land situated at Mouza-Khurd Khuntikewal, Thana No. 44, and Mouza-Kanchanpur, Thana No. 147 of Hunterganj Block under Chatra District. However, the then Assistant Settlement Officer-cum-Public Information Officer, Hazaribagh did not supply those information to the respondent No.3 within the statutory period of 30 days. Thereafter, the respondent No.3 preferred an appeal before the Settlement Officer at Hazaribagh on 23.07.2014,
The main legal point established in the judgment is the mandatory adherence to the principles of natural justice and the requirement for a reasonable opportunity of being heard before imposing a pena....
Public Information Officers can only be penalized under RTI for failures occurring during their tenure when a request was made, not retroactively for former officers' actions.
The court established that the provisions of Section 20 of the Act, 2005 should be strictly construed, and the Commissioner must ensure that the conduct of the Information Officer was not bona fide b....
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