RTI Seeking Justification For Notice Issued by Income Tax Dept: CIC Dismisses Appeal

The Central Information Commission(CIC) dismissed the appeal on the Right to Information (RTI) application seeking justification for notice issued by the Income Tax Department.

Y Akbar Ahmed, the Complainant/Appellant filed an RTI application seeking the detailed Information, maintained as part of Record by the Income Tax Department and detailed information, maintained as part of the Record by the Income Tax Department, regarding the Competency of the above-named Income Tax officials to deal with my Tax issue, since the above-named Income Tax officials have issued Several Notices/Summons 9 (Nos) under various sections of the Income TAX Act, 1961 on various dates to me, which are in violation to the well settled DICTUM/RULE/LAW Laid down by the Supreme Court of India, in the Case of Union of India vs Ashish Agarwal.

The CPIO replied to the complainant/appellant. The Complainant/Appellant argued on the lines as that of the grounds of the Complaint and Second Appeal mentioned above and harped that the CPIO has no authority to provide clarifications and opinions under the RTI Act and that he finds the reply of the CPIO as peculiar and unacceptable by common standards of replies provided by the CPIOs.

The Commission observed that none of the queries raised by the complainant conformed to Section 2(f) of the RTI Act. Through the contents of the RTI Application, his First Appeal, Complaint and Second Appeal, the Appellant/Complainant has raised bizarre and frivolous rhetorical queries seeking justification for the alleged summons/notices issued to him by the Income Tax Department while his subsequent far-stretching arguments against the CPIO’s reply (attempting to facilitate the Appellant with all the answers and explanations that he was looking for) is beyond any reasoning.

The Appellant/Complainant is advised that merely affixing the word “record” in an application expressing conjecture and surmises to channel grievances against administrative inaction/action of the public authorities does not entitle the applicant to assert his right to information or to question the wisdom of the CPIO in providing clarifications or descriptive replies to such open-ended RTI Applications.

The commission comprising Saroj Punhani observed that no action is warranted in the instant matter as the contentions of the Appellant/Complainant are found to be far stretched and bereft of any merit. The Complaint and appeal are dismissed accordingly.

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