CIC fines CSIR director general

LUCKNOW: Chief information commissioner Prof M Sridhar Acharyulu has directed director general, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Girish Sahni to pay a compensation of ₹ 5,000 to a retired scientist Dr Anand Akhila who was made to run from pillar to post to get a simple information. in an order dated May 21, 2018, the CIC has directed the DG CSIR to pay the amount to the appellant in the next 30 days for harassment caused to him . The CIC has also imposed a token penalty of Rs. 250/- on PIO, CSIR for not providing the required information .

The issue began when Dr Anand Akhila, retired senior scientist from CSIR- CIMAP, Lucknow requested an appointment with Dr Girish Sahni, DG GSIR on Nov 21, 2016 to apprise him of alleged corruption and misuse of position and power in some CSIR Labs. This request was very casually handled by CSIR authorities from DG office down to the office of joint secretary CSIR.

Getting no reply, Dr Akhila asked about the fate of his letter through an RTI application dated 10.03.2017. Getting no reply to his RTI application, Dr Akhila preferred a first appeal with CSIR on 18.04.2017 which was also not replied to. After the completion of the mandatory period required for replying to an RTI appeal, Dr Akhila approached to the Central Information Commission New Delhi for redressal on July 24, 2017. After going through the written submissions and replies by both the parties the Commission issued the final order on May 21, 2018.

“The CIC order is encouraging, as it shows an authority can be penalised for not taking the law of the country seriously and for refusing the request of a senior scientist/senior citizen for a meeting to expose the corruption issues of the department,” said Anand Akhila.