CIC directs Central Bank CMD to recover cost of hearing

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SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL

03 March, 2011

The CIC must be lauded for directing the CMD of Central Bank of India to recover the cost of a hearing as none of the bank representatives was aware about the case facts. This decision will send a message to erring officials and lawyers.

THIS REFERS refers to landmark verdict by Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Satyanand Mishra directing Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) of Central Bank of India to recover cost to the Bank for a hearing when none of the bank-officer and his assisting advocates were even aware of facts of the case listed before Central Information Commission through video-conferencing.

This episode also exposes the bitter fact of public-authorities obliging their favourite lawyers by engaging them unnecessarily to appear before the Commission. It is unfortunate that public-funded public-authorities have such officers, who cannot even face ordinary RTI petitioners arguing their cases without any lawyer.

Rule should be that concerned officers of public-authorities may have to arrange lawyers at their own without burdening public-funded public-authorities. Even cost of copying-charges waived under section 7(6) of RTI Act due to late response (before appeal-effect) should be levied on defaulting officers. Also there should be auto-calculation of penalty in each CIC verdict making penal-provisions under section 20 of RTI Act mandatory rather than discretionary as at present.