ORDER

Information sought:

The Appellant filed an online RTI Application dated 29.11.2018 seeking information on the following eight points pertaining to a document provided on 11.08.2018 by post vide RLAD B RK 017315746 which is under RLAD/BG CITY/TMO. He specifically sought the following information

1) “In 11 pages document reply you gave to me you said you are waiting for action from police department to take action on the culprit ticket collector. Please elaborate why it is taking so much time for you to get report from police department. It is been nearly 3 years. Provide details of all the requests you sent to police department in these nearly 3 years.

2) In your 11 pages reply you are saying I used abusive and vulgure language for the ticket collector lady. Please tell me exactly at least one vulgar word I used.

3) You said in the reply mobs came and beated me. I have provided you audio recording of the incident please tell me at what point someone from mob is coming and beating me.

4) Provide me exact rule from ministry of railway which prove I broke any rule.

Please do not tell the rule which you speak and I am supposed to agree with.

5) With all due respect, Kindly please tell me, when nearly all the developed country in the world are not just allowing but strongly encouraging the carriage of eco- friendly mode of transport like foldable bicycle in train why my motherland, the largest and the greatest democracy in the world has to remain backward in this.

6) To the best of my logic I tried to tell the culprit ticket collector including showing my location on Google map to tell which station I boarded in, or at least refer my ticket to know my boarding points. She repeatedly was saying pay the less money and I can go. At this point I started audio recording. In audio recording you can see her asking me the bribe of rupees 300 and I with all politeness asking her to let me go till I lose my patience. Please tell me to the best of your logic why my boarding point should not be considered as byapanahalli station. And why should I be needed to pay any fine at all. I am refusing to pay the unreasonable fine asked by her as to the best of my knowledge on irctc rules I am not supposed to pay any fine. If you know the exact rule from IRCTC, please provide here.

7) From your reply you are strongly saying there is nothing wrong that ticket collector did. Why at the moment she caught me she did not just issue me the fine receipt. There was absolutely no issue in that. She was having fine receipt all time. Being the honest taxpayer, I am just not supposed to get such treatment from the government servant, making me to wait for such a long time that at last I will give up to her bribe demand.

8) At last but not the least I have provided you the fine receipt copy, my season ticket copy, the audio recording. Why cannot you decide from there if I used abusive language or not, if anybody from mob came to beat me or not, if she has asked for bribe or not.”

The CPIO vide letter dated 11.12.2018 provided information to the appellant (not on record). Being dissatisfied, the Appellant filed a First Appeal dated 11.12.2018. The First Appellate Authority vide order dated 07.01.2019, stated as under:

“No recorded information is sought in the appeal by the applicant.

In the earlier RTI application it was requested to provide the information about the action taken on the complaint. The 11 pages document was provided in this regard within the stipulated time.

In the latest RTI application the information was requested to provide answers for the hypothetical question. The reply provided has been attached.”

Grounds for Second Appeal:

The Appellant filed a Second Appeal u/s 19 of the Act on the ground of unsatisfactory reply furnished by the Respondent. He requested the Commission to direct the CPIO to provide complete information sought for.

Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing:

The Appellant did not answer the telephone call despite six attemp