Chandigarh: The Punjab State Information Commission made it clear that public authorities cannot deny information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on the ground that records are missing. Taking a serious view of such a plea by the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, the commission directed its managing director to look into the matter and ensure that appropriate action is taken regarding the missing records.The direction was issued by a bench of State Information Commissioner Dr Bhupinder Batth while hearing an appeal filed by a Mohali resident seeking information from the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation. The RTI request was pending since July 2023. During the hearing, the respondent department informed the commission that the information sought by the appellant could not be located in its official records. The department stated that the information demanded was very old and sought additional time to trace it. The appellant was not present during the hearing, and the notice sent to him was returned as undelivered. After hearing the respondent and examining the documents on record, the commission observed that the department did not provide the requested information on the ground that the records could not be traced. It noted that the respondent cannot evade its responsibility to provide information merely by stating that the records cannot be located. The commission said efforts must be made to trace the records and supply the information sought by the applicant. The commission granted the respondent an opportunity either to furnish the required information to the appellant or to submit an affidavit detailing the steps taken to locate the missing records. The commission also observed that the department did not implement Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005, which mandates that every public authority must maintain its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner that facilitates access to information under the Act. It further noted that records that are appropriate for computerisation should be computerised within a reasonable time, subject to the availability of resources, and connected through a network across the country on different systems. Emphasising this provision, the commission said failure to maintain proper records cannot be used as a ground to deny information under the RTI Act. In view of these observations, the commission directed that a copy of the order be sent to the managing director of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation to examine the issue, ensure necessary action regarding the missing records, and submit a compliance report before the next hearing. Both parties were directed to appear in person before the commission on the next date of hearing scheduled for July 9.
