CIC rebuffs Department of Personnel & Training

The CIC has once again come down heavily on DoPT for stating on its website that ‘file notings’ are exempted from disclosure under the RTI Act.
The DoPT had in fact recently taken out a circular in which it was mentioned that “If the Central Information Commission, in any particular case, passes order to disclose the file noting, decision may be taken keeping in view the various provisions of the Act.”
The above was done by the DoPT despite the fact that decisions of the CIC are binding under Sec 19(7) of the Act and are not open to interpretation by govt departments. Moreover, it is quite amazing that the DoPT has chosen to substitute the provisions of a statute with its own interpretation.

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