GMCH should clean its mindset of cobwebs, says CIC

Express News Service: Tue Nov 30 2010,

Chandigarh : The Central Information Commission (CIC) has taken a serious note of the alleged attempts made by the incharge of the Genetic Centre of Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, for considering seeking information under the Right to Information Act as a ‘disturbing activity’.

In a scathing judgment dated November 15, Information Commissioner Deepak Sandhu has stated that the Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology at GMCH, who is the incharge of the Genetic Centre, ‘is required to clean mindset of cobwebs so as to allow the light cast by this unique legislation to illuminate her thinking’.

The judgment was given after an appeal was filed by Dr Rakesh Sehgal. Dr Sehgal, in an application submitted under RTI on May 20, 2009, had sought information pertaining to vigilance inquiries and any other inquiries conducted against any faculty member or Medical Superintendent of GMCH during the past 10 years including the present Director-Principal.

Dr Sehgal had desired to have information in a particular format, a sample of which he provided in his RTI application. Not receiving a response, he preferred appeal dated June 26, 2009 before the first Appellate Authority which also was not adjudicated upon. Consequently the applicant preferred complaint before the Commission.

The matter was heard on November 15. During the hearing Dr Sehgal provided a copy of a letter written by the incharge of the Genetic Centre of GMCH addressed to PGI Director.

The letter had identified seeking information under the RTI Act as ‘negative activities’ and described as being “equivalent to making a serious offence against the decorum of the Institute”.

Taking note of this, Sandhu stated, “The Commission through this order wishes to disabuse her of this erroneous interpretation of the RTI Act where in her view seeking information regarding an area not related to his (the appellant’s) field of research and not to his institution is considered “disturbing activities”