Dated 21-07-2007
Name of the Complainant:
Shri Sanjib Narayan Dass
General Secy, All Indai Small & Medium News Papers Federation, Assam
P.S. Binovanagar, P.S. Fatasil, Guwahati.
Name of the Public Authority:
I&PR Department
The following were present:
1. Shri M.K. Barooah, Commr & Secy, I&PR Deptt
2. Smt Rita Das, Dy. Secy, I&PR Deptt, & SPIO
The complainant absent but showed cause which was accepted. The Commissioner
& Secretary, I&PR Department along with Smt Rita Das, Deputy Secretary,
I&PR Deptt & SPIO present. The Commission decided to hear the case ex-parte
as requested by the complainant and in public interest.
Brief of the case
On 4.6.07 Shri Sanjib Narayan Dass of Guwahati submitted a petition to the Chief
Information Commissioner, Assam in which he stated that he did not get information
from the Public Authority of Information & Public Relations Department,
Government of Assam. The petition of Shri bass was transferred by the Secretary
of the Commission to the Commissioner & Secretary, Information & Public
Relations Department, Assam vide his letter dated 14.11.06. The information
sought for were as follows:
1. One uptodated All Asom Govt. approved list of the News Papers, Magazine,
Bi-weekly, Bi-Monthly, quarterly with name of the all publishers and Editors
approved by the IPR department, Government of Assam.
2. Information regarding procedure or rules for inclusion of the journalist
name' or News Paper, Magazine's representative name in the DIPR Teletips which
is publish under IPR department, Government of Asom, dispur, Guwahati - 781006.
3. Information regarding procedure 1 rules for issue the journalist 1 reporter
passes or invitation for commencing National Games which will be held recently
in the capital city Guwahati.
Submission of the Public Authority
Shri M.K. Barooah, Commissioner & Secretary, Information & Public Relations
Department submitted that the said letter No. SIC.12812006/3 dated 14th November
2006 appeared not to have been received in the I&PR Department. The department
was not aware of the petition of the complainant till its copy was enclosed
with the notice by the Commission which was received by him on 28.6.07. On receipt
of the copy of 28th June, 2007 the required information were collected from
the Director, Information & Public Relations.
The SPIO intimated Shri Sanjib Narayan Dass either to collect the information
at the earliest convenience after depositing the required fees and cost or to
intimate Government whether the same should be forwarded to him on receipt of
the application fee and cost from him. But he did not comply and when contacted
over phone he informed that he would not deposit any fee and requested the SPIO
to take up the matter with Assam Information Commission in this regard. Shri
Barooah stated that he was ready to send the information to him once he deposited
the application fee of Rs. 10/- and the cost of Rs. 14/- either by cash or by
cheque or bank draft payable to the Director of Information & Public Relations,
Dispur.
Observation of the Commission
The Commission observed that the petitioner once again sent the cheque of Rs.
10/- as application fee which was returned to him earlier. The applications
for information are to be submitted to the State Public Information Officer
of the concerning Public Authorities under section 6 (1) (a) of RTI Act, 2005,
and not to the Commission, along with the application fee. However, the Commission
has always been maintaining that if such applications are received by them such
applications should be transferred under section 6 (3) of the Act to the concerned
Public Authorities and that applications under the RTI Act should not be rejected
on the ground of nonpayment of application fee as the same can be collected
at the time of furnishing information.
In the instant case a banker cheque of Rs. 10/- payable to the State Chief Information
Commissioner was returned to the petitioner earlier. But now he had persisted
in receiving the application fee by the Commission which is not in accordance
with the Rules and hence rejected. The banker cheque of Rs. 10/- which was submitted
by the complaint be returned to him forthwith by the Secretary of the Commission.
The complainant should remember that the Commission is not the custodian of
information and cannot furnish it to him.
Decision of the Commission
The Commission, on careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the
case
decided to direct the Public Authority of the Information & Public Relations,
Government of Assam to intimate once again to the complainant that the information
was ready and could be obtained from the SPIO of the Department of Information
& Public Relations, Government of Assam on payment of Rs. 10/- as application
fee and Rs. 14/- as cost for photocopy of the documents.
The complainant, if he is willing to obtain the information from the Public
Authority should deposit the application fees and the cost accordingly by cash
to the department. It may also be paid in the fOI11} of bank draft or cheque
payable to the Director, Information & Public Relations, Government of Assam.
On receipt of the said fee and the cost, the Public Authority shall furnish
the information to the complainant.
With this direction, the Commission decided to close the case.
Sd/- (R.S. Mooshahary)
Chief Information Commissioner, Assam
Janata Bhawan, Dispur.
Sd/-(Dr. B.K. Gohain)
State Information Commissioner, Assam
Janata Bhawan, Dispur.
Authenticated true copy
(Jiauddin Ahmed)
Secretary, State Information Commission, Assam
Janata Bhawan, Dispur.
CC:
1. The Commissioner & Secretary, I&PR Deptt. Dispur
2. The Director, I&PR, Dispur
3. Shri Sanjib Narayan Dass, Gen. Secy, All India Small & Medium News Papers
Federation, Assam, NE Region, Binovanagar, Fatasil, Guwahati.
4. MD, AMTRON, Bamunimaidan
5. The Director, Information & Public Relation, Dispur.
6. Office file.
Secretary
State Information Commission, Assam