HC gives CIC 4 weeks to reply

Legal Correspondent

Shimla, October 9

The High Court today granted four weeks to Bhim Sen, Chief Information Commissioner, and KD Batish, State Information Commissioner, for filing reply to contempt notices issued to them by the court as to why contempt proceedings may not be initiated against them for disobeying the stay order passed by it.

The court passed this order on a contempt petition filed by Priyanka Vadra, alleging that despite the stay order passed by the court, the State Information Commissioners were still continuing with the proceedings and had summoned the record from the Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, the Additional District Magistrate, Shimla, and the Tehsildar, Rural, related to land purchased by her in Shimla.

During the course of hearing, the Information Commissioners were present before the court and sought time to file reply. After considering the request, a Division Bench comprising Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Sureshwar Thakur listed the matter for further hearing on November, 27.

The Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, had denied the information sought by the RTI applicant pertaining to the land purchase by Priyanka in his order on January 27, 2015, on the ground that since she was an SPG protectee, the information could have a direct bearing on her security. He had cited the Special Protection Act, 2003, and also said she was a VVIP and had been provided security by the SPG and this factor weighed with the state intelligence and also the President’s Secretariat.

Aggrieved from the order of the DC, Shimla, RTI applicant Dev Ashish Bhattacharya had challenged it before the Information Commission. Disposing of his appeal, the Information Commission on June 29 directed the Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, to provide the entire information sought by him with in 10 days. Against this order, Priyanka had filed a petition before the court and it had stayed the order of the commission. It was averred in the petition that on July 7, the court had stayed the order passed by the State Information Commission but despite that the Information Commissioners were continuing with the proceedings and summoned the entire record of the land purchase case from the office of the DC.

In 2007, Priyanka had bought a 4.25 bigha land near Mashobra at a cost of Rs 47 lakh to build her house. The government had given special relaxation to Priyanka, a non-Himachali, under the Tenancy and Land Reform Act to purchase land. She had later bought additional land, adjacent to her property.