Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 18: A Division Bench of State Information Commission has directed SKIMS Soura, Srinagar to implement the mandate of Section 4 of the RTI Act within three month for serving the cause of information seekers.
Reprimanding SKIMS for not implementing Section 4 of the RTI Act so far, the DB observed that statutory obligation imposed on every public authority with Jammu and Kashmir will help the information seekers to download the required information from the website without any hindrance besides saving the public authority concerned from hassles and future of multiple RTI applications filed before it from time to time.
These observations and direction were given by the Division Bench of Station Information Commissioner Dr S K Sharma and Nazir Ahmed while disposing of a Second Appeal by one Saqib Faheem Kachroo challenging the order passed by FAA and PIO.
The applicant, instead of depositing the documentation charges of Rs 2156 as cost of information, preferred First Appeal to FAA (Director SKIMS Soura) who also disposed it of with the observations that huge, enoromous, lengthy, time consuming and randomly asked information was not possible to be issued to the information seeker in the larger hospital and patient care interest.
The second appeal was initially listed before Single Bench of Srinagar Wing of the Commission, which after hearing the matter, observed that appeal under reference involves important question of interpretation of law and therefore referred the matter to CIC for constitution of a Division Bench.
After hearing both the sides, the Commission directed the PIO to allow the appellant an opportunity to inspect the record in his office during office hours and provide certified copies of relevant documents, if any, required by the appellant on payment of requisite fee as prescribed under J&K RTI Rules 2012.
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