T.N. Information Commission issues notice to former Raj Bhavan official for not providing information under the RTI Act

The Tamil Nadu Information Commission has sent a notice to a former official of the Raj Bhavan here calling for an explanation on why action should not be taken against him for not providing information to a petitioner within the stipulated time.

Dropping action against the then Public Information Officer (PIO) since he retired from service, Chief Information Commissioner M. Shakeel Akhter ordered a notice to be sent to the then First Appellate Authority (FAA) C. Muthu Kumaran, presently Joint Director, Disaster Management, Commissionerate of Revenue Administration, to explain why disciplinary action under the provisions of Sections 20(1) and 20(2) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, should not be initiated against him.

The case pertains to a petition filed by J. Janakiraman of Arani in Tiruvannamalai district, who had sent a complaint to the Governor seeking action against the management of a hospital. With no response forthcoming from the PIO, Raj Bhavan, even after three years on the action taken on his petition, he filed an appeal before the FAA. Three months later, he moved the Tamil Nadu Information Commission under Section 19(3) of the Act.

After hearing both sides, Mr. Akhter said no information was provided to the petitioner either by the PIO or FAA. While examining why action should not be against the then PIO S. Venkateswaran, the public authority appearing for Raj Bhavan informed that he had retired from service. A copy of the complaint lodged by Mr. Janakiraman was given to the present PIO. He was asked to look for the file in Raj Bhavan and inform the petitioner on the action taken and the present status.

Botched surgery

The grievance of Mr. Janakiraman was that the hospital performed a limb lengthening surgery on his son but the outcome made things worse. “I took my son to the hospital after seeing an advertisement in a journal that caters to the needs of differently abed people. Post-surgery, his condition worsened. While the shorter leg did not get corrected, the knee became stiff, and he could not walk or sit properly after that,” Mr. Janakiraman said.

In another case, Mr. Akhter ordered a notice to the same official, calling for an explanation on why action should not be taken against him for not providing information to M. Vallinarayanan of Nasiyanur, who gave a petition to the Governor during his visit to Erode on August 29, 2018. In this case as well, the Commission found that the information sought by the petitioner was not provided in time by the Raj Bhavan officials.