Central Information Commission (CIC): “Records cannot be destroyed after RTI application is filed, even if it outlived the time prescribed under weeding out policy and if destroyed like that, it would invite the penalty under Section 20 of RTI Act,” held CIC while hearing the plea of a complainant who sought some information with regard to appointment of Associate Professor from Delhi Technological University but was denied on the ground that records carrying the information have been destroyed. Earlier the complainant had approached Delhi Technological University seeking information regarding criteria for selection to the post of Assistant Professor, marks secured by the complainant including the interview and minimum marks fixed for selection to the said post but no details were furnished to the complainant on pretext of destruction of concerned records. While coming down heavily upon the University Authorities, CIC asked them to explain the Commission whether they were following the provisions of the Public Records Act, 1993 in destroying the old records, made any rules for their office, who is in charge of implementation of those rules, when the particular information sought by complainant was destroyed and what is the file noting about that file before it was weeded out. CIC further issued show cause to the Public Authority of the University for making a wrong claim of weeding the record and for not furnishing the information to the applicant. (Ashok Kr. Dixit v. Delhi Technological University, 2014 SCC OnLine CIC 3161, decided on October 9, 2014)
Records cannot be destroyed during the pendency of RTI application:
