Times of India: Chennai: Tuesday, September 18,
2018.
The Madras high court refused to quash a
show-cause notice issued by the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission (TNSIC)
under the RTI Act saying that no writ plea can be entertained against an
inquiry initiated by a statutory quasi-judicial body like the information
commission.
Justice S M Subramaniam's order on August
21 came on a writ plea filed by the Association of St Christopher's College of
Education against a notice issued by the TNSIC in January 2016 over
non-disclosure of information to RTI petitioners, and for failing to comply
with previous orders of the information panel.
Prakash Babu had filed an RTI query to St
Christopher's College of Education and Bentinck Higher Secondary School for
Girls in Vepery seeking reply to 22 questions, including details of employment
of teachers and collection of funds by the school.
Dissatisfied with the replies given by
the institution, Babu approached TNSIC. Commissioner Christopher Nelson ruled
that the institution should reply as to why the Public Information Officer
(PIO) shouldn't be penalised 25,000 for not giving proper replies to many of
the petitioner's questions.
Ruling on the writ plea filed by the
institution in the HC against the TNSIC notice, the court said: "Such
complex nature of facts and merits can be adjudicated before the state
information commission and proper relief can be granted by the commission by
taking note of the grounds raised in this regard. The commission should be
permitted to conclude its inquiry which should reach its logical
conclusion."
"If at all the writ petition has to
be entertained, the petitioner should establish that the show cause notice was
issued by an incompetent authority having no jurisdiction or with a malafide
intention or in violation of any statutory rules in force. Even if there is
allegation of malafide, the authority alleged has to be impleaded as a party in
personal capacity in the writ," the court said, dismissing the petition.
.JPG)
.JPG)
