CIC awards Rs one lakh compensation to railway employee

In the first case of its kind, the CIC has awarded compensation of Rs 1 lakh to an RTI applicant who was not informed about his marks in an examination conducted by the Railways.

In the first case of its kind, the CIC has awarded compensation of Rs 1 lakh to an RTI applicant who was not informed about his marks in an examination conducted by the Railways.

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The CIC also penalised the information officer of the North-Eastern railways Rs 25,000 in the same case.

Applicant Majid Hussain had moved the CIC after his repeated requests for information pertaining to the marks obtained by him in the selection process conducted by the North-Eastern Railway, Lucknow (2005-06), remained unanswered.

"The appellant has indeed suffered detriment in seeking information which is critical for securing justice. The respondent is, therefore, liable to pay a compensation of Rs 1,00,000 for all kinds of losses, including mental harassment, career opportunities, etc suffered by the appellant," Information Commissioner, MM Ansari said.

The DRM, Lucknow, Ashok Kumar Singh is directed to deduct Rs 25,000 from the salary of the Public Information Officer, Jagdish, in five equal instalments of Rs 5,000 each, with effect from February 2010, Ansari added while delivering the order.

Ansari said that on the pretext of violation of service rules, Hussain a graduate, was demoted as he was using his Rights to know as to why he was discriminated against and deprived of promotion.

The CIC had earlier issued a show-cause notice to the North-Eastern railways in the case to explain their position.