MCD, Delhi Police not helping RTI case: CIC

NEW DELHI - The Central Information Commission (CIC) has criticised the Delhi Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for not helping out an RTI applicant’s friends who were assaulted by a mob led by a municipal councillor.

The CIC said if police and the MCD do not do their duty and assist the information commission, then it would be impossible for people to exercise their fundamental Right to Information and the commission will find it difficult to discharge its duties.

In an order Dec 29 last year, the CIC had directed appellant Surinder Puri and the MCD’s house tax, building and engineering departments to conduct a joint inspection of a property in Padam Nagar area of north Delhi Jan 12, 2010.

But Jan 28, the CIC got a letter from Puri that during joint inspection Jan 12 two of his associates Ajay Kumar and Manmohan Gupta were physically assaulted allegedly by municipal councillor Satbir Singh who came with around 30 people.

Considering the gravity of the situation, the information commission wrote to the Delhi Police commissioner and the MCD commissioner informing them about the assault, and requested them to probe the incident and submit a report to the CIC before Feb 2.

However, they did not do so.

Neither the commissioner, MCD, nor the commissioner, Delhi Police, have extended cooperation in the conduct of this inquiry. The commission expresses the hope that the police and the MCD will do their duty and help statutory authorities in performing their functions, Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi noted in his order dated March 25.

Gandhi said that unless the police and the civic authority help out, it would not be possible for citizens to exercise their fundamental right to information to contain corruption and to hold governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed, which is the objective and promise of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

He noted that till date he has not received a response from the MCD commissioner despite telephonic reminders to his office.

The CIC had also asked the seven MCD officials, who were present during the incident, to depose the sequence of events individually.

Trouble had been anticipated at the site and when it did start, the police were unable or unwilling to take any action. The commission requested for a report on the incident before Feb 24 which the police have not submitted. Now it is over ten weeks since the incident occurred, but the police did not give a report but instead deemed it a fit case to oppose in a writ petition, he noted.

Regarding allegations of physical assault, Gandhi said that offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) may have taken place against Puri’s representatives but the CIC does not have powers to investigate allegations against offences under the IPC.

When such incidents are brought to the notice of the commission, it can initiate an inquiry and it has to rely on external agencies such as the police and the MCD to undertake part of inquiry and assist the commission.”

Gandhi further said: It is with deep concern that I admit that I am unable to take any further action as my powers under the (RTI) Act have now been rendered completely ineffective by the non-cooperation of the police and the MCD. I hope that all statutory agencies will cooperate to ensure that the rule of law prevails.