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Shiv Kumar Sharma
Tribune News Service
Yamunanagar, July 16
In a landmark judgement, the State Information Commission (SIC) has directed the Haryana Government to take appropriate steps to protect the life and liberty of an information seeker.
Deciding the appeal on June 18, Lt General KJ Singh (retd), State Information Commissioner, also issued show-cause notices to PK Malhotra, State Public Information Officer (SPIO)-cum-Joint Director, and Rajinder Kumar Chaudhry, deemed SPIO, Joint Director office of Technical Education Department, Haryana, for causing an inordinate delay in supplying the requisite information.
The SIC also directed them to be personally present before the commission on the next date of hearing on July 30. Dr S Garg, a public-spirited person of Jagadhri, had filed three separate RTI applications with the Director General, Technical Education Department, on January 3, February 20 and March 11 in a matter pertaining to illegalities in the appointment of an assistant professor at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar.
Dr Garg alleged that instead of providing information through the Technical Education Department, some officials of the university filed false complaints against him and his family members to pressure them into remaining silent.
He said Lt Gen KJ Singh (retd) asked the Director, General Technical Education, Haryana, to ensure that the officials of the department and Guru Jambheshwar University did not endanger the life and liberty of Dr Garg and his family members.
Dr Garg said the SIC held that it was amply clear that he (Dr Garg) had been subjected to multiple false cases and found that the information supplied to him by the department was incomplete, inadequate, manipulated, illegal and in violation of the guidelines.
‘False complaints filed’
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