Jagminder Aggarwal Vs CPIO (CIC Delhi)
Appellant filed an RTI application seeking the information on Rate of Deduction of Donation to Corona Relief Fund for income tax purpose.
To above query CPIO relied that information sought in your RTI application is already available in public domain. You may refer Income Tax Act, 1961 and Income Tax Rules, 1962, available on website, http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in to seek replies of your queries.
The Commission based on a perusal of the facts on record observes that the CPIO has provided an appropriate reply to the RTI Application as per the provisions of the RTI Act. It is pertinent to note that the Appellant has sought for a clarification by the CPIO which does not constitute as “information” as per Section 2(f) of the RTI Act.
The Appellant shall note that outstretching the interpretation of Section 2(f) of the RTI Act to include deductions and inferences to be drawn by the CPIO is unwarranted as it casts immense pressure on the CPIOs to ensure that they provide the correct deduction/inference to avoid being subject to penal provisions under the RTI Act.
he Public Information Authorities cannot expect to communicate to the citizen the reason why a certain thing was done or not done in the sense of a justification because the citizen makes a requisition about information. Justifications are matter within the domain of adjudicating authorities and cannot properly be classified as information.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
