CIC asks Rlys to recover travel costs from RTI applicant

NEW DELHI: In an unprecedented order, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Railways to recover the cost borne by its staff on travelling to attend RTI hearings from an applicant's salary. The applicant had sought details of his transfer order.

"The DRM, Western Railways, Bhavnagar (Gujarat), is directed to consider recovery of the expenditure incurred on the officials for attending hearing on January 15, 2010 from the salary of the appellant, who is held responsible for misusing the provisions of the RTI Act by filing frivolous petitions before the Commission even though there are no refusal of information to him," information commissioner M M Ansari said.

There are no provisions in the RTI Act for punishing or slapping penal provisions on an information-seeker and this is the first time that an applicant has been asked to shell out costs incurred by the government for what the CIC has ruled as a "frivolous'' application.

"The modalities of recovery of the costs incurred on the officials of the respondent should be decided and determined by the respondent, as per the service rules under which the appellant is governed,'' Ansari said in his order.

The applicant C P Singh, a railway employee, had demanded details of his transfer from Western Railways. Not getting satisfactory information, he approached the CIC which rejected the plea.

Ansari, in his order, said that the appellant was putting up "frivolous complaints and appeals resulting in huge cost burden on the public authority particularly on account of payment of TA-DA paid to the staff of the office of the PIO who attend the hearings in the Commission.''

He added that there was no denial of information and instead the applicant was "habitually misusing'' the Act to harass the staff.