Summons through video conference – CIC's e-hearing
Please refer to 12.12.2007 - we reported about the Central Information Commission summoning former senior officers of the CBI for a video conference. The appellant, Customs officer, Ajay Ubale had asked for some gate registers from CBI and they asked him to get them from different officers. He had also asked for information about a case in which investigation had been completed.
The hearing took place with the applicant Ajay Ubale at NIC studio Mumbai, V.V. Lakshmi Narayana , DIG, CBI at NIC studio Hyderabad and S. N. Saxena , SP, CBI at NIC studio Mumbai. Now the video hearing is over and the CIC was told that the gate registers have been destroyed and though investigation is over, a revision petition is pending.
The CIC ordered that gate registers cannot be inspected now as there remains nothing to inspect. Regarding the case details, the Commission held that that mere continuation of prosecution or process of investigation is not enough to deny information to an information seeker under the RTI Act, unless the disclosure of such information would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
And so directed the CPIO to furnish the information.