Bar on use of Indian Postal Order
for fee payment.
RTI activists say the SIC’s order on
December 2 dismissing a complaint against the rejection of an RTI application
defeats the very objective of the legislation. The SIC held that IPOs are not a
valid mode of payment under the RTI rules of the State government.
The case relates to an RTI
application submitted by Shikha Chibbar of the Delhi-based Commonwealth Human
Rights Initiative (CHRI) to the Home Department of the State in January. The
Public Information Officer (PIO) of the department returned the application
stating that the IPO attached with the application as payment of the fee was
not a recognised mode of payment. Under the RTI rules of the State, the fee
should be paid in cash or through bank draft or court fee stamp.
Allegation
“The SIC’s dismissal of the appeal
against the return of the application is the latest instance of a trend of the
SICs adding their weight to the problems that are increasingly preventing
effective implementation of the RTI Act," says Venkatesh Nayak, programme coordinator,
CHRI. Section 7(1) of the RTI Act permitted a PIO to reject an RTI application
only by invoking the exemptions specified in Sections 8 and 9 of the Act and no
other reason would be valid or legitimate, he said. The Central government and
several State governments accept IPOs for fee payment, he adds.
The order issued by the Chief
Information Office Siby Mathews says “there is nothing improper or illegal in
rejecting the application submitted by the petitioner,” as payment of an
application fee of Rs.10 by IPO is not an approved method in the State.
Director General of Prosecutions T.
Asaf Ali, who was actively involved in popularising the RTI Act, says postal
orders should be accepted as an approved mode of payment. Rejection of an
application on such a ground will defeat the very purpose of the legislation,
he said.
Source : http://www.thehindu.com/
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