2016 (11) TMI 1425 - Commission - Indian Laws

Right to information - sought information as held by the respondent Supreme court in their computer data-base - seeking information on impugned orders in relation to the cases as mentioned in the RTI application; to upload the details of the impugned orders on the Supreme Court s website; and inspection of digital data of the cases - Held that - It is observed that the appellant is not seeking any certified copy of the judicial record but has sought information on the impugned orders already publicly available on the kiosk maintained by Hon ble Supreme Court in its premises viz. the name of Court/Agency which passed the order, date of judgment and the case number. In the alternate, the appellant has sought the inspection of the digital data in relation to the cases mentioned in his RTI applications. It is observed that the sought for information is available in many cases in the database of the Hon ble Court. No case to deny this information has been made out. Besides, provision of this information can help the general public, litigants, etc., in linking the Hon ble Supreme Court s orders with the impugned orders and thereby serve a larger public interest. The respondent is directed to furnish, if available, the impugned order details of the cases mentioned in the RTI requests and provide the same within 30 days of this Order. The respondent is advised to update and upload the details (as available) of the impugned orders on the Hon ble Supreme Court s website in larger public interest.

Issues Involved:
1. Provision of information on impugned orders.
2. Inspection of digital data of the cases.
3. Uploading details of impugned orders on the Supreme Court's website.
4. Summoning original records.
5. Imposing penalty on the CPIO.

Detailed Analysis:

1. Provision of Information on Impugned Orders:
The appellant filed multiple RTI applications seeking details of impugned orders such as the name of the court passing the order, date of judgment, and case number. The appellant argued that similar information had been previously provided by the CPIO and should be available as it is held by the Public Authority. The respondent contended that the information sought is not clear and that the request would require collating information from various files, which would disproportionately divert resources. The Commission observed that the appellant is not seeking certified copies but information already available in the Supreme Court's database and directed the respondent to furnish the impugned order details if available.

2. Inspection of Digital Data of the Cases:
The appellant requested inspection of digital data related to the cases mentioned in his RTI applications. The appellant highlighted that the data is available on the Supreme Court's information kiosk but not on their website. The respondent argued that the request is beyond the jurisdiction of the CPIO and that some data is not updated on the internal server. The Commission noted that the information sought is publicly available at the kiosk and should be provided to the appellant.

3. Uploading Details of Impugned Orders on the Supreme Court's Website:
The appellant emphasized the need for the Supreme Court to upload details of impugned orders on its website to ensure public access and compliance with Section 4 of the RTI Act. The respondent stated that it is not within the CPIO's duties to upload such information. The Commission advised the respondent to update and upload the details of impugned orders on the Supreme Court's website in the larger public interest.

4. Summoning Original Records:
The appellant requested the summoning of original records related to the information sought. The respondent did not provide a specific response to this request. The Commission did not address this issue directly in its decision.

5. Imposing Penalty on the CPIO:
The appellant sought the imposition of a penalty on the CPIO for not providing the requested information. The Commission did not find a case to deny the information and directed the respondent to provide the details. However, the Commission did not impose any penalty on the CPIO.

Decision:
The Commission directed the respondent to furnish the impugned order details of the cases mentioned in the RTI requests within 30 days of the order. The respondent was also advised to update and upload the details of the impugned orders on the Supreme Court's website in the larger public interest. The appeal was disposed of, and a copy of the decision was to be given free of cost to the parties.

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