Farooq Tantary CNI

Jammu, Aug 14: In a series of strongly worded directives, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has reprimanded several Government departments in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for systematically obstructing Right to Information (RTI) requests.The CIC found widespread violations, including failure to meet statutory deadlines and repeated absence from scheduled hearings—a pattern that highlights entrenched non-compliance among Public Authorities, a media report said today,Issuing consecutive rulings, the Commission directed various Public Information Officers (PIOs) to furnish long-withheld information, issued show-cause notices, and cautioned that penal action could be initiated suo motu under the provisions of the RTI Act. The orders were passed in separate cases involving the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar; the Mechanical and Hospital Engineering Department; and the Crime Branch Headquarters.Another PIO, from the Assistant Commissioner Revenue’s office, was served a show-cause notice as he neither attended the hearing nor sent any response or suitable explanation about the absence from hearing. “This has led to willful obstruction in the dissemination of information and the hearing proceedings before the Commission being vitiated violating the provisions of the RTI Act”, the CIC said while directing the officer to submit an explanation as to why penal action should not be initiated against him for not attending the hearing without any justifiable explanation. one case, Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officer Om Prakash had requested copies of complaints, investigation reports, and salary stoppage orders from the DC Kishtwar’s office. When only a partial response was provided, he filed a First Appeal, which was never adjudicated. This forced him to escalate the matter to the Central Information Commission through a Second Appeal.In the second case, an individual named Junaid Nazir had requested detailed information regarding snow clearance vehicles procured in 2022 and 2023. His request included data on vehicle registrations, fuel consumption, and logbooks maintained by senior engineers. Despite this, the Mechanical and Hospital Engineering Department failed to respond, and his First Appeal was completely ignored. Upon hearing the Second Appeal, the Central Information Commission (CIC) ordered the Public Information Officer (PIO) to provide a complete response within 15 days. The Commission also expressed strong disapproval of the PIO’s failure to appear for the hearing. “The PIO is directed to file a written explanation justifying their conduct, failing which action under Section 20(1) and 20(2) of the RTI Act shall be initiated,” the CIC stated in its order.In the third case, complainant Ranjeet Singh Manhas was denied access to an enquiry report related to his own complaint concerning a fraudulent government appointment. The Crime Branch had refused to share the report, citing exemption under Section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act. However, the CIC determined that the investigation was already concluded, rendering the exemption inapplicable. The PIO was thus instructed to provide the report within four weeks, with any sensitive information appropriately redacted.In all these cases, the Commission noted a common thread – delayed or denied information, non-adjudication of first appeals, and unexplained absence of PIOs from hearings despite prior notice. As per the experts this signals a culture of disregard for transparency laws in J&K.