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RAJESH SHANKAR
Shansah Ali Khan – Appellant
Versus
State of Jharkhand – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
The present writ petition has been filed for quashing order dated 15.07.2013 passed by the respondent no. 3 – the Chief Information Commissioner, Jharkhand State Information Commission, Ranchi in Appeal No. 1669/2012, communicated to the petitioner vide memo no. 5177 dated 22.07.2033, whereby the petitioner has been held guilty of not providing information and a penalty of Rs.25,000/- under Section 20(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act, 2005”) has been imposed upon him to be realized as the state revenue from his salary in five equal installments by the Deputy Commissioner, Ranchi and Treasury Officer, Ranchi.
2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that an application was made by the respondent no. 4 – Shivraj Singh under the Act, 2005 on 22.02.2012 seeking following information from the Public Information Officer-cum-Circle Officer, Town Circle, Ranchi:
B- What steps have been taken on his application (mutation case)?
C- By what time the required certified copy would be delivered to him?
3. The respondent no. 4 claiming that the required information was not pro
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....
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.
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.
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....
Officers can only be penalized for information delays if they were in charge at the time of the request; newly appointed officers are not liable for prior delays.
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