ISLAMABAD: After the failure to provide the requested information to a citizen under the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2017, Chief Information Commissioner has directed Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat to provide the requested documents as per the request received by the ICT administration on August 1, 2019, within the 10 working days of the receipt of this order.
The deputy commissioner, in the order, is also directed to take immediate steps to proactively share all categories of information mentioned in Section 5 of the RTI Act and submit the compliance report to the commission by August 17, 2020. The order was issued after the ICT the administration didn’t provide the requested information to the appellant, Shehzad Yousafzai.
The information was supposed to be provided within 20 working days.
After getting no response on his request, Yousafzai filed an appeal with the Commission on Aug 20, 2019, in which he stated that he had requested information from the deputy commissioner, but he was not provided with the said data.
The applicant had requested a list of committees constituted by the ICT administration to run the administrated affairs along with the purpose of each committee, list of the members of each committee along with their departments and designations, and the contact details of chairman and secretary of each committee. The details related to the dates of the last and next meeting of each committee were also sought.
The Information Commission issue a notice on Aug 26, 2019, asking the ICT administration to submit reasons for not providing the requested information. However, the administration did not respond to the notice. After that, the commission fixed the hearing date for March 10, 2020 and notice was sent to both parties in Feb.
However, no one appeared on behalf of the deputy commissioner on the date of the hearing.
The commission is of the view that the respondent failed to implement Section 12 and Section 13 (1) & (2) of the Right of Access to Information by not allowing access to the said information. It also noted with grave concern that why the respondent has ignored the request of the appellant and has not attended the hearing called by the commission.
The requested information by the appellant falls within Section 5 (a), (b), (d) and under 6 (d) of the Right of Access to Information Act 2017. Under the act, the requested information requires proactive disclosure as the committees are constituted to carry out certain tasks for the Islamabad administration.
The deputy commissioner, in the order, is also directed to take immediate steps to proactively share all categories of information mentioned in Section 5 of the RTI Act and submit the compliance report to the commission by August 17, 2020. The order was issued after the ICT the administration didn’t provide the requested information to the appellant, Shehzad Yousafzai.
The information was supposed to be provided within 20 working days.
After getting no response on his request, Yousafzai filed an appeal with the Commission on Aug 20, 2019, in which he stated that he had requested information from the deputy commissioner, but he was not provided with the said data.
The applicant had requested a list of committees constituted by the ICT administration to run the administrated affairs along with the purpose of each committee, list of the members of each committee along with their departments and designations, and the contact details of chairman and secretary of each committee. The details related to the dates of the last and next meeting of each committee were also sought.
The Information Commission issue a notice on Aug 26, 2019, asking the ICT administration to submit reasons for not providing the requested information. However, the administration did not respond to the notice. After that, the commission fixed the hearing date for March 10, 2020 and notice was sent to both parties in Feb.
However, no one appeared on behalf of the deputy commissioner on the date of the hearing.
The commission is of the view that the respondent failed to implement Section 12 and Section 13 (1) & (2) of the Right of Access to Information by not allowing access to the said information. It also noted with grave concern that why the respondent has ignored the request of the appellant and has not attended the hearing called by the commission.
The requested information by the appellant falls within Section 5 (a), (b), (d) and under 6 (d) of the Right of Access to Information Act 2017. Under the act, the requested information requires proactive disclosure as the committees are constituted to carry out certain tasks for the Islamabad administration.