Analysis: Commission's Directive on President's Official Visit Information The Commission acknowledged the challenges in centrally compiling information on the President's official visits but directed the CPIO to provide ...
Cases where this provision is explicitly mentioned in the judgment/order text; may not be exhaustive. To view the complete list of cases mentioning this section, Click here.
Provisions expressly mentioned in the judgment/order text.
Analysis: Commission's Directive on President's Official Visit Information
The Commission acknowledged the challenges in centrally compiling information on the President's official visits but directed the CPIO to provide additional details on delegation composition. It also required explicit breakdown of miscellaneous expenditure components related to the visits. Emphasizing transparency, the Commission recommended sharing visit details on the official website. The appeal was disposed of, with parties receiving the order copies at no cost.
Issues involved: The issues involved in this case are related to the Right to Information (RTI) application seeking information about the official visits of the President of India, specifically regarding the composition of the delegation, expenses incurred, and availability of information in a compiled form.
Details of the Judgment:
Issue 1: Availability of Information in Compiled Form The Appellant sought information on the official visits of the President of India, focusing on the details of the visits by the then President, both within and outside the country, including the composition of the delegation and expenses incurred. The Respondents stated that the desired information was not centrally available in a compiled form and would require significant resources to compile. The Commission acknowledged that the expenditure data is maintained across various ministries and departments, making it impractical for a single CPIO to compile. However, the Commission directed the CPIO to provide details of the delegation for visits beyond the information already provided to the Appellant.
Issue 2: Miscellaneous Expenditure Details The Appellant requested a breakdown of the miscellaneous expenditure related to the President's visits, which was not clearly provided in the response. The Commission agreed with the Appellant that the components under the miscellaneous category should be explicitly stated. Consequently, the Commission directed the Controller of Accounts and the CPIO of the Ministry of External Affairs to inform the Appellant about the components constituting the miscellaneous expenditure.
Additional Observation The Commission noted a growing public interest in official visits by high dignitaries and emphasized the importance of transparency in sharing information about such visits. It recommended that the President Secretariat consider uploading details of the delegation and expenditure on official visits on the official website to enhance public access to this information.
In conclusion, the appeal was disposed of, and copies of the order were to be provided to the parties free of cost.
Full Summary is available for active users!
Note: It is a system-generated summary and is for quick reference only.
TaxTMI 
of 
Join Channel
TaxTMI 
