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| SIC lambasts DySP (Hqs) Jammu for withholding information | | Violation of transfer policy by Police | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Feb 17: The State Information Commission (SIC) while lambasting the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Hqrs) has directed him to disclose information sought under RTI Act about posting of police officials in Jammu district court and Chief Prosecuting Officer's office (CPO) to an information seeker as the said information was earlier denied by the DySP who is also the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the District Police Office Jammu to an RTI applicant. The PIO had invoked section 8 (1) of JK RTI Act 2009 and had termed information to be personal in nature. The SIC said that the said information should have been pro actively available on the official website of police department under section 4 (1) (b) of State RTI Act. As per sources many police officials posed in district court Jammu and CPO's office haven't been transferred from decades which is an open violation of official transfer policy.
Background of the case:
One Shashi Pal Sharma from Roop Nagar, Jammu moved an application dated 28.10.2013 under J&K RTI Act, 2009 before the PIO / Deputy Superintendent of Police, Hqrs. Jammu where-under he sought the following information:-
1. Details of the total number of police personnel / employees of JKP, Naib-Kot's, SPO's (Special police officers) etc. posted in District Court Jammu and office of CPO (District Court, Jammu) at present with names / office or Court where posted/period of stay/date of joining of such persons.
2. Details as to how many such employees have not been transferred since last 3 years with details of their period of stay in Court be also provided.
The Deputy Superintendent of Police, (Hqrs), Jammu who is also the PIO in the office of SSP office Jammu (District Police Office) vide office letter no. RTI/2013/193/3485-86 dated 21-11-2013 informed the information seeker that the information sought is personal information and would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual.
The disclosure of information has no relationship to any public activity or interest and is hence denied. Thus, feeling aggrieved of the order of the PIO, the information seeker filed 1st appeal dated 25-11-2013 before the First Appellate Authority (FAA) i.e. Superintendent of Police, (Hqrs) Jammu.
The FAA i.e. SP (Hqrs) Jammu upheld the order of the PIO Dy SP (Hqrs). Thus, feeling aggrieved of inaction on the part of the FAA, the information seeker preferred 2nd appeal dated 31-12-2013 before the State Information Commission (SIC) in which he has alleged that the PIO as well as the FAA has taken shelter of Section 8(1)(i) of J&K RTI Act, 2009 but forgotten to take care of proviso which reads as:-
"provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or State Legislature shall not be denied to any person."
The main intention of the information seeker Shashi Pal Sharma was that he wanted to expose the creamy layer and approachable officers of the department who have been enjoying the posts in District Court Jammu/CPO, Jammu for decades together and required this information in the larger public interest. The PIO/ Dy. Superintendent of Police, (Hqrs), Jammu in his counter statement filed before the SIC vide letter no: RTI/146/2013/262/Dy.SPHQJ. dated 31-01-2014 stated that the information sought by the information seeker is personal information and its disclosure would have no relationship to any public activity or interest and would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual and as such it is exempted from disclosure under section 8(1)(i) if J&K RTI Act, 2009.
While taking a serious note of the case the SIC issued strict orders in this case on Feb 11th 2014.
The SIC order reads as:
"The stand taken by the PIO is not justified under law because this information is expected to be in the public domain as per the provisions of Section 4 of J&K RTI Act, 2009 and public authority is under a statutory obligation to suo moto disclose such information on its website. In view of the aforesaid facts and observations, PIO/ Dy. Superintendent of Police, (Hqrs), Jammu is hereby directed to furnish the requisite information to the information seeker within one week from the date of receipt of this order under an intimation to the Commission." |
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