E-Paper
Chandigarh: RTS panel slaps ₹10,000 fine on RLA official
The decision came on a complaint by Poonam Jamwal, a Chandigarh resident, who stated that she had applied for transfer of ownership of her vehicle, bearing number CH01-BB-2279, on August 3
The Chandigarh Right to Service Commission has imposed a penalty of ₹10,000 on the designated officer of the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA) for not performing duties within the stipulated time limit.
The decision came on a complaint by Poonam Jamwal, who stated that she had applied for transfer of ownership of her vehicle, bearing number CH01-BB-2279, on August 3.
Poonam stated that she had submitted all required documents on the Parivahan Seva Portal. However, RLA did not carry the process further and the document verification was pending since August 14.
As per the list of public services notified by the Chandigarh administration, this service is required to be provided to any applicant by the designated officer (DO) within 10 working days from the date of submission of application. But the DO in this case, the branch in-charge, registration, failed to adhere to the time limit.
Therefore, Arun Kumar, chief commissioner, Chandigarh Right to Service Commission, while taking suo motu action under of the Punjab Right to Service Act, called upon the DO, Jose George, to show cause as to why penal action should not be taken against him.
He was also directed to appear in person before the chief commissioner on November 9, along with complete record of the case as well as a reply to the notice.
In a written response, the DO stated that initially the applicant submitted application on July 27 for transfer of ownership of her vehicle. During the verification process on October 23, discrepancies in some documents were found and objections were raised.
But the applicant had not uploaded the requisite documents till November 8, thus the office sent a reminder to the applicant. But documents were still pending at her level.
However, the chief commissioner noted that the DO did not pay any heed to the application for 58 working days and viewed this lapse seriously.
During the hearing, the applicant stated that the RLA office was in the habit of putting objections piecemeal and also sit over files without any cogent reason. The DO failed to rebut the applicant’s version.
After going through the documents and considering verbal submissions made by both parties, the chief commissioner held that there was unjustified delay on the part of the DO in providing service to the applicant within the stipulated time limit.
The objections, if any, should have been raised during the 10-day period only.
Accordingly, keeping in view the pendency on the DO’s part, the chief commissioner imposed a penalty of ₹10,000 upon George and directed the deputy commissioner to recover the amount from his next salary.
