Time-bound Information Falls under Mandatory Section 4 Disclosures, Public Authorities Must Put It on Their Website: Information Commissioner
Since information on documents required at the time of school admission in Delhi government schools is time bound, the information too must be time bound; in fact, it should have been uploaded in the public domain by the public authority (PA), in this case, the directorate of education, Delhi.
 
In a stern order this week on 7th October, Vinod Kumar Tiwari, the central information commissioner (CIC), observed that although the information was provided but after a long delay, the second appeal by the right to information (RTI) applicant “was non-furnishing of information by the PIO within stipulated period as per the RTI Act.”
 
Hence, CIC Tiwari sternly ordered that “…if such information is already available with the public authority, then the same should have been provided to the appellant initially. Further, such generic information must be available in public domain of respondent public authority’s website.”
 
Referring to the provisions of the RTI Act, CIC Tiwari stated that “The RTI Act mandates every public authority to provide maximum information in the public domain through the internet so that the public have minimum resort to the use of the RTI Act to obtain information.
 
“Further, once information has been provided in public domain and on the website, the information is no longer held by or under the control of any public authority and hence, the same is no longer accessible as ‘right to information’,” he stated.
 
RTI applicant Aakash Goel sought the following information:
 
At the time of admission of a student to Delhi government school, which documents are taken by the school – Aadhaar card of the student; Aadhaar card of the parents; bank account details of the student; birth certificate of the student; income certificate of the parents; transfer certificate (TC) of the student; and any other document? Also, out of the above, which of the information is stored in the MIS of the directorate of education?
 
The CPIO of the directorate of education, Delhi replied that “such type of clarification is not covered under the definition of information as per section 2(f) of the RTI Act, 2005 and hence need not be replied.”
 
Mr Goel’s first appeal was also stonewalled as the first appellate authority (FAA) replied that, even if it was provided late, the applicant had received the information from the school to which the CPIO forwarded the RTI application. 
 
He replied, “On going through the information sought in the said RTI, it is observed that the PIO (HQ) had appropriately forwarded the RTI application to the concerned branch i.e., school branch for providing information. The said branch provided the information which was further forwarded to the appellant by PIO (HQ) vide letter dated 24.08.2023 through online RTI portal. The reply given by PIO (HQ) is appropriate.”
 
During the second appeal hearing on 7 October 2024, RTI applicant Goel reiterated that, although he has received pointwise information from the CPIO, there was a 'substantial delay' in providing the same and hence the information became irrelevant to him.
 
Manoj Kumar, OS (RTI/HQ) & APIO and V Selvarasn, OSD, who were present during the second hearing, submitted in writing to the CIC the information that they had submitted to the applicant. It included:
 
“Aadhaar card is not mandatory for the admission but it is one of the documents needed as residence proof of Delhi as per circular no. DE.23 (363)/Sch.Br./2023/220 dated 29/03/2023; Aadhaar of parents as residence proof may be submitted as one of the documentary evidence as residence proof; Bank passbook in the name of child or any of the parents as residence proof. This is required for direct transfer of scholarship fund etc.; For class VI to VIII original date of birth certificate, issued by MCD or any other local body may be submitted; there is no need of parent's income certificate for the admission in government schools of DoE; for class 9 countersigned school leaving certificate of a recognised school is required under section 139(2) of The Delhi School Act.1973. 
 
“What is also required is - Marksheet of previous class passed (if applicable); Certificate of Caste (in case of SC/ST/OBC); Certificate of Disability.
 
“Any one of the documents are required as residence proof of Delhi - BPL card/ Ration Card in the name of parents having name of the child as residence proof of Delhi; Domicile certificate of child or parents as residence proof; Voter Identity card of any of the parents; Electricity bill/ MTNL telephone bill/ Water bill; Passport in the name of child or any of the parents; Driving license of the parents; Photocopies of the one of the above essential documents are kept by the school as evidence.”
 
CIC Tiwari counselled the CPIOs who had attended the second appeal hearing, by sounding them that “The commission would also like to counsel the respondent that every public authority shall make constant endeavour to take steps in accordance with the requirements of section 4 (1) (b) of the RTI Act to provide as much information suo moto to the public at required intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that public does not have to resort to the use of RTI Act to obtain basic information.” 
 
He advised the FAA to expedite the updating of information in compliance with provisions of section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005. He stated, “This will also relieve the public authority from the burden of RTI applications which are filed for merely seeking such information and not any specific record. In pursuance of the aforesaid advisory, the CPIO is directed to place a copy of this order before their competent authority for taking appropriate action.”
 
The CIC quotes a Supreme Court judgement to give a stern message to the directorate of education PIOs.
 
Hon’ble Supreme Court of India recently in the case of Kishan Chand Jain vs Union of India & Ors., Writ Petition (Civil) No. 990 of 2021, vide its judgement dated 17.08.2023, has held as under: 
 
“25. Having examined the Right to Information established by the statute under section 3 in the context of the obligations of public authorities under section 4, we are of the opinion that the purpose and object of the statute will be accomplished only if the principle of accountability governs the relationship between ‘right holders’ and ‘duty bearers’. The central and state information commissions have a prominent place, having a statutory recognition under chapters III and IV of the Act and their powers and functions all enumerated in detail in section 18 of the Act. We have also noted the special power of ‘Monitoring and Reporting’ conferred on the central and state information commissioners which must be exercised keeping in mind the purpose and object of the Act, i.e., ‘to promote transparency and accountability in working of every public authority’.
 
“26. For the reasons stated above, we direct that the central information commission and the state information commissions shall continuously monitor the implementation of the mandate of section 4 of the Act as also prescribed by the department of personnel and training in its guidelines and memorandums issued from time to time. The directions will also include instructions under O.M. dated 07.11.2019 issued by the department. For this purpose, the commissioners will also be entitled to issue recommendations under sub-section (5) of section 25 to public authorities for taking necessary steps for complying with the provisions of the Act.”  
 
(Vinita Deshmukh is consulting editor of Moneylife. She is also the convener of the Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She is the recipient of prestigious awards like the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting, which she won twice in 1998 and 2005 and the Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstanding media person for her investigation series on Dow Chemicals. She co-authored the book "To The Last Bullet - The Inspiring Story of A Braveheart - Ashok Kamte" with Vinita Kamte and is the author of "The Mighty Fall".)
 
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