DED asked to name schools that hiked fee after salary increase

Updated on: Monday, April 11, 2011

The CIC has directed the Delhi Education Directorate to make public names of schools indicted by the Comptroller and Auditor General for "excessive" fee
hike after increase in salary for their staff as recommended by the 6th Pay Commission.
The case relates to an RTI application seeking details of such private schools and inquiries sought by the Controller and Auditor General about them.

The Directorate refused to provide the information citing section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act which prohibits disclosure of records which can impede the process of investigation.

When the matter reached the Central Information Commission, the Directorate stated that the mattter is under investigation and pending in court and hence cannot be provided to RTI applicant S C Agrawal.

The argument given by the Directorate was rejected by Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, who said information can be withheld only if it impedes the probe or has been prohibited by the court from being disclosed.

"Parliament has clearly stated in Section 8(1)(b) that only information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by the Court is exempted and in Section 8(1)(h) it is again stated that only information which is likely to impede the process of investigation would be exempt," Gandhi said.

"The Commission has not seen any reasoning provided by the PIO as to how disclosing this information would impede the process of investigation," he said.

Gandhi warned the public information officer that after five years of enactment of the RTI Act, it is not permissible to read provisions of exemptions under it without application of mind while refusing to give information.

He said entire information should be provided to Agrawal who, in addition to names of schools, had also sought to know action taken against educational institutions named by the CAG, names of schools cleared by it and those audited.

DED asked to name schools that hiked fee after salary increase

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