Chief Information Commissioner Sunil Kumar Mishra has slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on Home Department Public Information Officer (PIO) Pranab Kumar Dey for not furnishing information in response to an RTI application.
RTI activist Pradip Pradhan had submitted the application to the Home Department seeking information relating to the inquiry commissions on the Kalinganagar firing, Kandhamal communal riot and chit fund irregularities and expenditure borne by the Government for the purposes. As PIO Dey didn’t furnish any data, Pradhan filed an appeal to the First Appellate Authority on May 16, 2016. As he did not receive any response, Pradhan then filed a complaint at the Information Commission’s office on July 29, 2016.
Conducting a hearing on Pradhan’s petition, the Information Commissioner issued a show-cause notice to Dey on June 20, 2018. Conducting another hearing on October 30, 2018, the Commissioner imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on Dey for negligence of duty.