2019 (6) TMI 61 - HC - Indian Laws

Supply of information to the Tehsildar/Sub-Divisional Magistrate, as has been sought by him as per an application received under the Right to Information Act - HELD THAT - In the present case, the information, which has been sought by the Public Information Officer, O/o Tehsildar/Sub-Divisional Magistrate, is required to be supplied to the said authority for the reasons, as have been detailed in the order dated 12.09.2018 passed by the Chief Information Commissioner, Punjab, with which reasons this Court agrees as it is a statutory duty cast upon the Document Writers which they are fulfilling. As regards the fiduciary relationship is concerned, there is no such relationship between the petitioners and the third party whose documents are being sought to be registered and entries thereof made in the registers/documents maintained by them. What is required and rightly so observed by the Chief Information Commissioner in his order dated 12.09.2018 is that the petitioners are bound to supply the information as available on their records to the Public Information Officer which they maintained in their statutory duties, which, thereafter, has to be processed keeping in view the provisions of Section 8 (1) and Section 9 of the Right to Information Act by the Public Information Officer. The duties, therefore, which are cast upon the Public Information Officer, cannot be exercised by the petitioners, who are the Document Writers. They are mandated to supply the said information to the Registrar-cum-Tehsildar, who shall, thereafter, proceed to deal with the said information as per the provisions of the Right to Information Act. Petition dismissed.

Summary

Issues:
Whether Document Writers are covered under the Right to Information Act, 2005 and obligated to supply information to the Tehsildar/Sub-Divisional Magistrate as per an application received under the Act.

Analysis:
The petitioners, who are Document Writers, contended that they are not covered under the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005, and thus not liable to supply information as sought by the Tehsildar/Sub-Divisional Magistrate. They argued that their relationship with clients falls under fiduciary relationships exempted under Section 8 (1) (e) of the Act. However, the Chief Information Commissioner found that the information sought from the Document Writers does not fall under this exemption.

The Court agreed with the Chief Information Commissioner, stating that the Document Writers have a statutory duty to supply information to the Public Information Officer. There is no fiduciary relationship between the Document Writers and the third party whose documents are being registered. The Public Information Officer is responsible for processing the information as per the Act's provisions, ensuring the third party has an opportunity to respond. The Document Writers must provide the information to the Registrar-cum-Tehsildar for further action under the Right to Information Act.

The Chief Information Commissioner's order emphasized that Document Writers, as per The Punjab Document-Writers Licensing Rules, 1961, are performing statutory functions under the direct control of the Registration Department. They are required to maintain records and can be inspected periodically. The Licensing Authority can request information from Document Writers and disclose it after considering any objections from third parties. If the information is not exempted under Section 8 (1) or Section 9 of the Act, it must be provided. The Chief Information Commissioner directed the Public Information Officer to obtain information from Document Writers and initiate disciplinary action if they refuse to provide information, except in cases covered by the Act's exceptions.

Ultimately, the writ petition filed by the Document Writers was dismissed, upholding the Chief Information Commissioner's order for them to comply with the Right to Information Act's provisions and supply the requested information to the appropriate authorities.