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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court has asked the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to deal with RTI applications strictly by the timelines and rules prescribed under the RTI Act and RTI Rules.

The court was hearing a plea by NGT seeking the quashing of a July 2015 order passed by the Central Information Commission (CIC), wherein the RTI applicant Alok Kumar Ghosh sought disclosure of some information related to the candidates for the post of Group-D (MTS) employees. The present case involved the NGT’s failure to respond to an RTI plea by Ghosh.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh said, “Since the NGT is a national tribunal, the RTI cell of the NGT ought to function properly. Needless to add, the RTI applications received by the NGT in the future shall be dealt with strictly by the timelines and rules prescribed under the RTI Act and RTI Rules.”

The counsel for NGT contended that now the tribunal has created a proper RTI cell and the First Appellate Authority. He further submitted that the tribunal did not have full-time staff in 2013.

Ghosh in March 2014 had sought disclosure of information on the appointment of certain posts but NGT failed to reply. Following appeals, the case was heard by the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), who not only converted it into a complaint but also looked into the NGT's position of defending the second appeal by hiring an advocate and concluded that the information sought was liable to be disclosed.

In the present case, the NGT approached the high court against the CIC’s order and contended that the authority has “no power” to pass such an order.

The single-judge bench observed, “There can be no manner of doubt that the NGT was at fault in the present case and the non-reply to the RTI application was not an acceptable position.” Additionally, it added that some of the “broad directions” given by the CIC, such as to disclose the details of litigation expenditure, could not have been given in the present case and are unsustainable.  

“In the facts of this case, such directions could not have been issued as the case before the CIC was primarily an appeal under Section 19 of the RTI Act. Thus, the directions to disclose the details of expenditure in respect of litigation expenditure as also the policy level decisions which the CIC directs are unsustainable”, the court said.

Accordingly, setting aside the CIC order, the court also directed the tribunal to make a policy to disclose all results of recruitment tests or interviews, minutes of the committee selecting candidates, etc. Furthermore, the court rejected the direction to explain why compensation should not be awarded in the present case.

Conclusively, the court ruled, “Needless to add, the RTI applications received by the NGT in future shall be dealt with strictly in accordance with the timelines and rules prescribed under the RTI Act and RTI Rules”

Case Title: National Green Tribunal v. Alok Kumar Ghosh

Statue: The Right to Information Act, 2005; The Right to Information Rules, 2012