New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) The CIC has issued a show-cause notice to a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) official and fined a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) official for misleading replies and prolonged delays in responding to RTI pleas.
In an order, Information Commissioner Jaya Varma Sinha issued a show-cause notice to a senior CGHS official after observing that he had made contradictory submissions regarding the receipt and issue of a prescribed medicine to a beneficiary.
“It is pertinent to mention that the Commission has observed discrepancy in the submissions made by the answering respondent regarding non-receipt of Medicine LAMITOR OD 100 MG,” the order said.
It added that the official was “trying to mislead the Bench” by claiming that a generic medicine and the prescribed sustained-release drug were “one and the same thing.” The case stemmed from an RTI application filed by a CGHS beneficiary, alleging that the medicine prescribed by a government specialist was received by the CGHS Wellness Centre, Patparganj, but not issued to the RTI applicant.
The commission held that the Senior CMO-cum-APIO “not only misled the Commission but has also vitiated the proceedings of the hearing” and directed him to explain why “maximum penalty under Section 20(1) of the RTI Act may not be imposed” and why disciplinary action should not be recommended under Section 20(2).
The commission also directed CGHS to revisit several queries and provide records after invoking the severability clause under Section 10 of the RTI Act.
In another order, Chief Information Commissioner Raj Kumar Goyal imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 on a former Public Information Officer of the Delhi Jal Board for “deliberate denial of information” and for obstructing the dissemination of information sought under the RTI Act.
The commission noted that although the RTI application was filed in October 2022, “information in the form of a proper reply” was furnished only in September 2024, nearly two years later, and only after the commission’s intervention.
In his RTI application, Vijay Kumar Verma had sought information about the payments of water bills and claimed that the calculation of units and rates was inaccurate.
“The reply dated September 17, 2024, could have been provided on November 11, 2022, but the cause of the delay of two years in providing the same information has nowhere been explained,” the order said.
It also observed that earlier responses were “evasive” and failed to address the applicant’s queries.
The commission found the conduct a violation of the RTI Act and imposed a token penalty of Rs 10,000, payable in two instalments by February 27, 2026. PTI MHS ABS VN VN
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