Bhopal: Information Commissioner Singh issues warrant against information officer

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh State Information Commissioner (MP SIC) Rahul Singh issued an arrest warrant against Surbhi Dubey, Block Panchayat Officer at Rewa Janpad Panchayat and Public Information Officer, Janpad Panchayat, Rewa and Raipur Kalchirya after the information officer jumped 38 summons issued by the Commission over the past 4 months while showing continued non-compliance of orders of the Commission, said SIC official.

This is the second time in the history of Madhya Pradesh, that Information Commissioner Rahul Singh has issued an arrest warrant. Earlier Singh had issued the arrest warrant against a District Chief Medical and Health Officer after he had shown blatant disregard to the orders of the Commission over two years.

The issue relates to as many as six RTI applications filed at Janpad Panchayat Rewa and Janpad Panchayat Raipur Karculiyan of Rewa district of the State. In both the Janpad Panchayats Surbhi Dubey was designated as Public Information Officer (PIO).

All these six appeals were filed by four different RTI Applicants. Dubey did nothing to make information available to RTI applicants within 30 days. The Commission in it’s subsequent orders had asked her to provide the information.

Over the past four months, the Commission has issued 38 summons but she showed continued indifference and non compliance of SIC’s orders. Following which the Commission issued show cause notice of penalty of Rs 25000 against Dubey in all the six appeals. Despite 38 summons, show cause notices under section 20 and repeated reminders, Dubey refuses to provide information and appears before SIC.

State information Commissioner Rahul Singh issued an arrest warrant and has asked the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Rewa Division, Mithlesh Kumar Shukla to execute the bailable warrant to secure personal attendance of Surbhi Dubey, before the Commission at 12 noon on April, 21 2022.

Information Commissioner Rahul Singh pointed out that “The SIC, as a statutory body established to promote and uphold the letter and spirit of the RTI Act, can’t remain a mute spectator to such blatant repeated violation of the RTI Act. If such violations are not addressed properly, it will create a mockery of the law and institutions established to uphold the law.”