CIC may summon officials over plea by whistleblower’s family

After slain RTI activist Ravinder Balwani's daughter wrote to the Central Information Commission (CIC), the transparency regulator's chief said, if needed, officials from the respondent public authority/authorities would be summoned for a hearing. Nivedita Khandekar reports.

After slain RTI activist Ravinder Balwani's daughter wrote to the Central Information Commission (CIC), the transparency regulator's chief said, if needed, officials from the respondent public authority/authorities would be summoned for a hearing.

HT Image

Balwani's daughter Sonia had written to the commission in wake of the Commission's resolution passed last year that it would direct the public authority/authorities concerned to declare suo motu the information if a complaint in this regard was received from family members of such activist.

A resident of Vasant Kunj, Balwani extensively used RTI route to dig out information from various Delhi government departments and then lodged complaints at the Delhi Lokayukta office. He died on April 25 after meeting with an accident two days earlier. However, his family suspects foul play and has alleged it to be murder, as he was receiving threats.

Two weeks ago, his family members had approached information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi through a letter/complaint written by Balwani's daughter Sonia. Gandhi, in turn forwarded it to the CIC chief Satyendra Mishra.

"We received a copy of the letter that Gandhi wrote to Mishra three days ago," Balwani's son Varun said.

Mishra told HT, after going through the due process, officials from the respondent public authority/authorities from whom Balwani had sought information would be called. "It can be a regular hearing even in absence of the applicant, who has died/was killed."

"(However), CIC can direct disclosure of information only if the information is disclosable," Mishra added.