Bhubaneswar: Orissa High Court has issued a notice to the Odisha Information Commission, seeking a reply to allegations that it arbitrarily dismissed a complaint case.
Petitioner Nivedita Roy reportedly filed an RTI application September 21, 2021, with the public information officer at Chauliaganj police station in Cuttack. She sought details of a complaint lodged against her husband, Bibhuti Ray, and a copy of the station’s CCTV footage. Roy argued the request involved life and liberty, so the information should have been provided within 48 hours. The officer allegedly did not respond, according to the allegations.
When no information arrived, Roy lodged a complaint with the commission under Section 18 of the RTI Act, asking for a penalty against the officer and compensation under Section19(8)(b). Nearly four years later, the commission—without a hearing – reportedly dismissed her case, saying she had not first approached the first appellate authority under Section19(1), citing a Supreme Court order, it added.
Roy reportedly then moved the High Court, contending the dismissal violated natural justice and breached Rule 6(4) of the Odisha Information Commission (Appeal Procedure) Rules, 2006.
The court has asked the commission to respond to her allegations.
UNI
