Business
Standard: New Delhi: Thursday, 12 March 2015.
A poor
prisoner in Kolhapur in Maharashtra had to approach the CIC for a simple piece
of information - the PIN code directory of postal department - as he did not
have access to Internet to know the correct code for sending letters to his
family.
Taking
cognisance of humanitarian issues involved in the plea, Information
Commissioner Basant Seth directed the postal department to provide a printout
of the PIN code directory to Jitendra Anandrao Chouhan free of cost.
In a sad
commentary on the hassles faced by RTI applicants while seeking information,
Chauhan was not provided with All India PIN code directory by postal department
as it claimed that after digitisation it has done away with providing hard
copy.
Chauhan
pleaded that he is a poor person who is lodged in jail and has no access to
computers but the postal department officials did not budge and kept telling
him that the only way he can access PIN codes is through Internet.
He kept
telling the postal department that great hardships are being faced by him and
other prisoners as many times the letters mailed by them are returned
undelivered for the want of PIN codes.
Chauhan also
told the postal department that poor prisoners have no means for communicating
with the family other than letters but postal authorities did not furnish
requisite information to him or find a way to solve the problem faced by
prisoners.
"The
appellant has submitted that poor prisoners face great hardships in sending
letters to their family members as they have no access to the PIN code
directory displayed on India Post web site. This is, therefore, a humanitarian
issue concerning larger public interest since the prisoners face hardship in
communicating with their families," Seth said.
He asked the
postal department to look into the issue and take appropriate steps to provide
access to PIN codes to prisoners lodged in various jails.
.JPG)
.JPG)
