Business
Standard: New Delhi: Friday, 26 February 2016.
The Central
Information Commission has directed Health Ministry to ensure that Annual
Performance Appraisal Reports are finalised within given time frame so that
officers like Magsaysay awardee Sanjiv Chaturvedi do not face hardships.
Noted
whistleblower Chaturvedi had approached AIIMS, where he was Chief Vigilance
Officer, seeking file notings and copies of his APAR under the RTI Act but the
institute refused to part with it saying it has not been finalised.
"The
appellant states that due to non-finalisation of the performance appraisal
report, he is being put in a disadvantageous position vis-a-vis his peers. In
this factual backdrop, the appellant states to have sought the certified copy
of the related file notings," Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad
noted in his order.
He said APAR
is disclosable per se upon finalisation of assessment, however, in the present
case, the report is under consideration of the reviewing authority.
The
Information Commissioner expressed his empathy with Chaturvedi who was removed
from the post of CVO three months after the NDA government assumed power at the
Centre.
"The
Commission is quite alive to hardship faced by the appellant in terms of
detriment of career prospects in terms of the rules framed by the DoPT that the
APAR has to be written by reviewing and accepting authority within a given time
frame," he said.
Azad said the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in this case and the cadre controlling
ministry that is the Ministry of Forest are supposed to ensure this.
"A copy
of this order shall be marked to Secretary Health, Government of India for
taking necessary corrective action to ensure that officers like the appellant
in the instant case, do not suffer on account of delays in writing of their
APARs by senior officers," he said.
Azad also
ordered disclosure of number of corruption cases referred to CBI and CVC by
AIIMS after Chaturvedi's unceremonious removal on August 16, 2014.
Chaturvedi
had approached the Commission after his RTI reply seeking details of the cases
referred by AIIMS following his removal from the position did not elicit
satisfactory reply from the AIIMS.
AIIMS
contended that disclosure of such information may create create problems for
the apprehension, prosecution and conviction of accused and sought refuge under
section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act which exempts disclosure of such information.
"The
Commission observes that furnishing details of the cases referred to CBI or CVC
may create impediments in the course of investigation thereof. However, in
considered opinion of the Commission, there is no harm in disclosure of
numerical data as precisely reflecting the number of cases which were referred
to CBI and CVC," Azad said in his order.
He also
allowed disclosure of information related to objections raised on the
appointment of former Chief Vigilance Officers of the Institute, if any.
"The
Commission observes that the disclosure of information sought would go a long
way in furtherance of cause of transparency in a premier medical institution of
the county," he said.
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