An “association of individuals” can seek information under the Right to Information Act, the Tamil Nadu Information Commission (TNIC) has ruled in a recent order.
“Appalled” at the elementary mistakes being committed as to who could apply under the Right to Information Act, the Commission, in its recent order, reiterated that an “individual” under the General Clauses Act includes an “association of individuals,” who could ask for information under the Act.
The Commission was inquiring into a complaint by B. Thirugnanam, president, TNHB colony Residents Consumer Protection Awareness Welfare Association, Mathur.
When the petitioner sought information from the Public Information Officer of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department on implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, he was refused.
The grounds given — that an “association” was not acceptable as a “proper petitioner” under the RTI Act — were restated by the Appellate Authority when Mr. Thirugnanam appealed against the decision. He took the matter to the TNIC, which called for an inquiry.
In its order, the Commission noted that the department had taken “well beyond the 30-day time interval provided,” when disposing of the appeal. During the inquiry, “the Public Information Officer very comfortably confessed that he [was] new to the job and that his predecessor [had] committed the master blunder,” the Commission noted.
Adding that it was “even more galling” and a “tragedy” that the particular file also bore the “learned advice of the Law Department,” the Commission asked how the “learned law pundits of the Law Department could have totally forgotten all basic law of the General Clauses Act, which governs all the Acts.”
Section 3 of the RTI Act was intended only to restrict the right to citizens of the country to ask for information and had nothing to do with the procedure as to who could apply for the information, the Commission said, and ordered the Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, to ensure the information was supplied to petitioner within a week, free of cost.
It also directed the Secretary to take up a training programme to ensure that all Public Information Officers of the department were aware of the provisions of the RTI Act, and asked for personal explanations from officials concerned as to why the penalty clauses of the Act should not be applied for the wrong decision given by them.
