Differences in the Karnataka Information Commission have come to the fore with nine commissioners petitioning Governor Vajubhai Vala to take action against Chief Information Commissioner N.C. Srinivasa.
On Saturday, the nine commissioners submitted a representation to the Governor seeking suspension of Mr. Srinivasa for “misconduct and abuse of power”. They also wanted the Governor to refer the case to the Supreme Court for an inquiry.
All the information commissioners have accused Mr. Srinivasa of not taking them into confidence on important decisions, interfering in their official work, suppressing information on the annual convention recently held by the Central Information Commission, and preventing them from attending the event. Mr. Srinivasa assumed office in May.
H.P. Sudham Das, one of the commissioners, said, “There has been no transparency or accountability ever since he [chief] assumed office. Earlier, periodic meetings were held to discuss issues pertaining to the information commission. After he assumed charge, the entire system in the commission has collapsed. On October 12, there was an annual convention of the Central Information Commission in Delhi. The Chief Information Commissioner did not inform us about it and deprived us of an opportunity to attend the event. All these years, information commissioners took part in the event as it was a national forum to deliberate various issues.”
The commissioners have also alleged that Mr. Srinivasa does not address the grievances of citizens visiting the commission . “He treats the entire staff serving in the commission, including those from the Police Department, with total contempt for absolutely no reason,” the letter to the Governor states.
L. Krishnamurthy, the senior-most among the information commissioners, said, “Mr. Srinivasa is autocratic. It is not only we who feel this way. There are 103 outsourced staff and they work in fear. We have apprised the Governor of all these issues. He said he would seek legal opinion and take necessary action.”
However, when contacted by The Hindu , Mr. Srinivasa denied the allegations. “It was a conference of the Central Information Commission. I thought it was sufficient if one participated in the meeting. I was invited as special invitee and took part in the event. Had all the information commissioners participated in the event, it would have been a burden on the State exchequer. Moreover, I am not under any obligation to reveal each and every communication I receive to the other information commissioners.”
He further said that information commissioners were sending out “a bad message” to society in general. “It is nothing but tarnishing the image of Karnataka Information Commission in general and the Chief Information Commissioner in particular. So far as the allegations made in the representation given to the Governor are concerned, I will give a reply when asked for one.” He claimed that he has brought in a lot of discipline and that has caused the outburst.
