Officers However High Not Above RTI Act, CIC Treats Chief Vigilance Officer As Deemed PIO And Issues Show Cause Notice [Read Order]

The Central Information Commission, on Friday, treated the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Employees State Insurance Company (ESIC) as its deemed PIO, and issued him a show cause notice, as the Commission deliberated upon imposition of penalty on ESIC.

Information Commissioner, Prof. M. Sridhar Acharyulu was hearing an Appeal filed by one Mr. Harinder Dhingra, who had sought copies of admit cards issued to the candidates appearing for the exam conducted by the ESIC. Mr. Dhingra had claimed that the examination witnessed a “Munna Bhai movement (sic)”, as the people who had appeared to take the test were allegedly not the actual candidates.

During the hearing, the Information Commissioner expressed disappointment with the contradictions in the reasons provided by the PIOs of various departments of ESIC, observing, “The Commission is surprised to know that nothing was initiated to probe this Munnabhai filmy type of impersonation scandal in spite of detailed RTI requests along, and that none is taking impersonation scandal seriously. The ESIC appears not even ready to give responses on most of the queries of the appellant. The representatives of several PIOs were talking about their own small wings/sections of ESIC without having comprehensive response and each one of them was pleading ignorance.”

It, thereafter, issued show cause notices to three PIOs, and also to the Deputy Director (Recruitment), directing them to send their responses before 11 August.