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The Central Information Commission (CIC) has held that when a person is accused of sexual harassment, he is entitled to get all the related information to defend himself in a penal proceeding, as it is a human right in his capacity as a citizen and accused under the RTI Act and under the principles of criminal justice. A penalty of Rs 25,000 on a Public Information Officer must be imposed for denying the information to an officer accused of sexual harassment at workplace and recommended disciplinary enquiry be conducted against him.
This followed the appeal the CIC was hearing, which was moved by an officer facing an inquiry on a complaint of alleged sexual harassment. He had sought information on 15 points, including copies of Statements of the named individuals obtained by the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) during the preliminary inquiry and copies of correspondences between an official and the president of the ICC.
While the CPIO denied him the information, three documents were given to the appellant. The CPIO charged Rs. 6 per page from the appellant. The CIC has criticized this by saying, “The RTI Rules say the CPIO can collect the copying fee at Rs 2 per page but did not authorize him to demand Rs 2 by spending more than that. This reflects at least, the harassing nature of the CPIO, which is surely a sign of malice.”
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