Employee entitled to service particulars of colleagues under RTI'

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: The High Court of Karnataka has said that employees need access to service records of their colleagues if they are fighting a dispute with them over seniority, promotion or other related issues.

Allowing the claim by a lecturer of Marimallappa PU College, Mysuru, the HC in its August 22 judgment said, “It hardly needs to be stated that for working out redressal for the grievances in service, an employee has to have full service particulars of other employees working under the same employer especially when dispute arises relating to confirmation, seniority, promotion or the like.”

The lecturer in physics, AS Mallikarjunaswamy had approached the HC against the State Information Commissioner who had negative his Right to Information (RTI) application seeking information of the service records of his colleagues.

The lecturer argued his own case before Justice Krishna S Dixit. The HC in its judgement said, “Having heard the petitioner-partyin-person and learned Advocates appearing for the Respondents, this court is inclined to grant indulgence in the matter inasmuch as there is no scope for invocation of Sec.8(1)(j) since petitioner is not a stranger to the Respondent[1]institution, but a Lecturer working therein since years.”

The HC said that there was an error in the Commissioner’s order rejecting the RTI application.

“The petitioner is justified in contending that unless the service particulars of the persons which he has sought for in the subject RTI application are furnished, he will not be in a position to work out his grievance in the subject service matter. This aspect has not animated the impugned order and therefore there is an error apparent on its face warranting indulgence of this court,” the HC said.

The HC directed the principal of the college “to furnish service particulars of the persons concerned and copies of records in that connection within a period of three weeks, failing which for the delay of each day, the 5th respondent shall pay from his pocket a sum of Rs.1,000/- to the petitioner.”

The Principal was also ordered to pay a cost of Rs.5,000/- towards expenses to the lecturer. (WP 23695/2022)