Orissa High Court has canceled a fine of Rs 12,750 that was imposed on a former controller of examination of the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha. This fine was for a 51-day delay in giving information to someone who asked for it under the RTI Act.
Petition Filed 13 Years Ago
The case against the Commission’s decision was filed about 13 years ago. Prasanna Kumar Mishra, the person seeking information, wanted to know about the answer sheets of history, geography, and Sanskrit from the time Dr. Ardhendu Sekhar Bhol was the controller of examination, from November 13, 2007, to October 1, 2008. The Commission had fined Bhol in a decision made on August 24, 2011. But then he challenged this decision in the high court.
Court’s Ruling
The High Court, in its ruling on April 5, said that the Commission didn’t understand Bhol’s explanation properly. Bhol had explained in his response that he was not the person responsible for providing the information. He clarified that he was not the public information officer (PIO) or the referring PIO. All the documents needed for the information were with the secretary and president of BSE, Odisha.
Bhol’s Clarification
Bhol mentioned that his job was only to conduct the exams. He also mentioned that the answer sheets had been damaged in the rain, which caused the delay in giving the evaluated answer sheets by the Board.
Final Decision
In simple terms, the High Court decided that Bhol was not at fault for the delay in providing the information. The court said that the Commission’s decision was not fair because they didn’t consider all the facts properly. So, the fine imposed on Bhol was canceled.
