In an example of how public servants make a mockery of RTI Act in Madhya Pradesh, MP State Information Commission (MPSIC) has penalised a Thana in Charge (TI) with Rs 25,000 and has recommended deputy inspector general (Rewa range) to take action against the slack officer.
Dipendra Singh, the traffic police in charge, Singrauli, not only declined to accept the RTI application but also tried to evade the action in appeals, the order issued by the info panel on August 8 said.
RTI applicant Atulesh Kumar Dwivedi had in July approached MPSIC through an appeal that office of the Traffic Thana Waidhan returned his application three times sent through a post. Dwivedi had sought details of the record of a vehicle checking drive by the police during the lockdown early this year.
He alleged that he had earlier met Singh but he refused to take his application, saying the police station doesn’t fall under the RTI jurisdiction.
After the MPSIC intervened, the Thana in charge, Singh, said he hadn’t returned the application sent via post, while it was a person in civil dress who had returned it. He also presented a statement from the postman concerned, Rampyare Patel, who affirmed that someone in civil dress had returned the posts at the said police station.
The panel took strong exception to the replies from both the public servants while affirming that, according to the police rules, the Thana In Charge is the Ex-Officio Assistant Public Information Officer under the RTI and holds the responsibility in entirety for the RTI application posts, which were returned three times.
The commission even said the repeated refusal of the posts was a result of a deliberate action taking place in agreement with the TI and is a gross misconduct under the RTI Act.
During an appeal as on July 16, the TI had accepted that the police station was equipped with the CCTV cameras but later offered a written reply that no CCTV record was available of the instances pertaining to returning of the posts, said the panel’s order.
“After hearing, we found that the said officer was guilty of refusing the RTI application deliberately without any valid reason so a penalty of Rs 25,000 has been imposed on the officer,” said State Information Commissioner Rahul Singh on Thursday. Police Stations receives several important legal documents and the statement of the postman concerned in the matter is also questionable therefore, the commission also directed Chief Postmaster General to take appropriate action.
The commission has also directed DIG Rewa range Anil Singh Kushwah to take strict action against the TI for slackness under RTI Act provisions.
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