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RAJESH SHANKAR
Raj Maheshwaram – Appellant
Versus
State of Jharkhand – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
The present writ petition has been filed for quashing the order dated 28.10.2010 (Annexure-2 to the writ petition) passed by the Information Commissioner, Jharkhand State Information Commission, Ranchi in Appeal Case No. 1443 of 2008 communicated to the petitioner vide memo no. 6903 dated 11.06.2011, whereby the petitioner has been held guilty of not supplying the required information to the respondent no. 3 and punishment under Section 20 (1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (in short, “the Act, 2005”) has been imposed upon him directing the concerned department to recover a sum of Rs. 15,000/- from his salary or any amount due to be paid to him by the government as well as recommendation has been made to initiate departmental proceeding under Section 20(2) of the said Act. Further, the concerned department has been directed to pay Rs. 35,000/- as compensation to the respondent no. 3 under Section 19(8)(b) of the Act, 2005.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner was posted as Block Development Officer, Jamtara vide notification dated 08.11.2008 and was given additional charge of Circe Officer, Jamtara for the period from 19.11.2008 to 21.01
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 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 Officer is not liable for delays not caused during their tenure; penalties require evidence of wrongdoing and loss to justify compensation under the Right to Information Act.
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