Delhi HC dismisses plea filed against CIC's order of not imposing penalty on officer for providing delayed information

New Delhi [India], November 22 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by an RTI applicant against a decision of the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). The commission had refused to impose a penalty on an official who provided the information related to the auction of a suit worn by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a delay of one year after the filing of the RTI.
Justice Yashwant Varma dismissed the petition terming it "misconceived". The petition stands dismissed, he said.
The petitioner had argued that there are provisions in the RTI Act for the imposition of a maximum penalty of Rs 25,000 in cases such as the present one and the court should direct the CIC to issue a fresh order.
While dismissing the court said that the law only empowers the CIC to levy a penalty, only in case, if the information has been delayed with malafide.
The bench said that no case was established before the CIC to warrant a penalty.
The petitioner challenged the order given by the CIC in July 2021. The petitioner submitted that he had filed an application under the RTI seeking information related to Modi's suit and its auction.
This information was provided to him belatedly after one year of filing the application. Therefore a penalty should have been imposed by the CIC on the officer in the matter.
It was the grievance of the petitioner that the CIC only cautioned the official for the delay in providing the information. The decision not to levy a penalty on the officer was contrary to the RTI Act.
An auction was held in 2015 for PM Modi's suit along with other more than 400 items that he had received as gifts during his tenure to collect funds for the 'Clean Ganga Mission'.
The suit worn by the PM during his meeting with then US President Barack Obama in New Delhi was auctioned for Rs 4.31 crores. A Surat-based diamond merchant purchased it. It was Clicked and auctioned for 4.31 core. (ANI)