Karnataka Information Commission riled over government not recovering penalty from salary of officials denying info under RTI Act

Karnataka Information Commission criticises the State Government for failing to recover penalties from officials with regard to denial of information under RTI Act, undermining accountability.

The Karnataka Information Commission (KIC) has taken exception to the State Government not recovering penalty imposed on officials who have avoided sharing information sought under Right to Information Act, 2005.

The KIC has so far imposed a penalty of ₹10.38 crore on 10,843 government officials designated as Public Information Officers (PIOs). Of this, just about ₹2.70 crore has been recovered from 3,084 PIOs.

The penalty is mandated for recovery from the salary of the official.

KIC sources said that some of the pending cases date back to 2012. The maximum fine that can be levied under the law for denying information is ₹25,000.

In a communication to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, a copy of which is with The Hindu, Chief Information Commissioner Raman K. has pointed out that the PIOs have shown dereliction of duty.

“Though there are circulars to recover the penalty from the salary and initiate disciplinary action, the departmental heads have not taken action. This has belittled the Information Commission’s order, and people are feeling that the KIC’s orders are useless,” the letter stated.