JHARKHAND PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the petitioner as well as State. Although, private respondent has appeared through his counsel, on notice, by filing vakalatnama, but no one appears on his behalf to contest his case.

(2.) The petitioner is aggrieved by order dated 31.3.2008 passed in Appeal No. 799 of 2007 by learned Chief Information Commissioner, Jharkhand State Information Commission, Ranchi, Annexure-9, whereby it has directed the petitioner-JPSC to furnish question-wise answer to the respondent no. 3 failing which the Public Information Officer shall be held guilty under the R.T.I. Act.

(3.) The impugned order has been assailed on the sole, ground that the commission has travelled beyond the scope of the query made in the application, vide Annexure-1, by information seeker respondent no. 3. The said information sought for at (ka) of the application dated 7.6.2007, related to furnishing of correct answer of the written examination of Mechanical Engineering paper for the relevant examination held in Advertisement No. 3/2003-04. The petitioner-JPSC provided the said information by making statement vide Annexure-6 that the correct answer of the said paper has been published on the website of the Commission thereafter, the respondent no. 3 made a further request to provide questions in respect of which answers were furnished earlier on his request. The same were replied by Annexure-8 in the appeal before the State Information Commission being Appeal No. 799 of 2007 inter alia stating that the scope of the original application seeking information has been enlarged, which is not permissible under the RTI Act and further that the questions prepared by the Commission for the respective examination is protected under the Copyright Act as also provisions of Sections 8(i)(d) and 9 of the RTI Act, 2005. However, by the impugned order, the State Information Commission has proceeded to direct the petitioner-Commission that the petitioner-Commission should provide question-wise answer to the applicant failing which Public Information Officer would be held guilty under the RTI Act for suppressing correct information and furnishing misleading information.