The Hindu: Panaji: Wednesday,
March 29, 2017.
Disposing a
recent appeal before it, the Goa State Information Commission (GSIC) held that
under Right to Information(RTI), proceedings abate on the death of complainant.
The case
pertains to an application filed by Choka Chodankar in 2011, asking information
about NOCs given for retail liquor trade in a village in Goa. The panchayat
secretary of the village had submitted a letter notifying death of the complainant
in 2016. The daughter-in-law of the complainant had also requested the GSIC to
close the proceedings.
State
Information Commissioner Juino De Souza observed in his order that though “no
rules are prescribed under the Goa State Right to Information Rules, as in case
of the Central Information Commission (management) Regulations, 2007, or some
of the State Commission Rules. Nevertheless, it was the opinion of this
commission that RTI is a personal right of the information seeker and therefore
cannot devolve on heirs or anyone else.”
He added, “In
fact RTI is not a material thing to be passed on the legal heir or anybody
else. They can make a fresh application asking for the same information.”