25 thousand fine on those who do not release CCTV footage under RTI except special circumstances
Dehradun: CCTV footage is a record available in electronic form, which cannot be refused on demand under the Right to Information unless it is a threat to the sovereignty, security of the state and personal safety of anyone.
CCTV footage also comes under the purview of the Right to Information Act. No department can refuse to give these under RTI unless it threatens the sovereignty, security of any state or the personal safety of anyone. The State Information Commissioner has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the Public Information Officer of District Supply Officer, Haridwar for not providing the footage.
On June 2 last year, Roorkee resident Udayveer Singh had asked for the recording of the CCTV camera installed in the office of District Supply Officer, Haridwar, from 10 am to 3 pm on May 25. Regarding which Public Information Officer Poonam Saini had mentioned that there is no obligation to give information, citing Section 8(1)(g) of RTI.
This case was heard by State Information Commissioner Yogesh Bhatt. The Public Information Officer said that no orders have been given by the Head of Office in this regard. State Information Commissioner Yogesh Bhatt said that CCTV footage is a record available in electronic form, which cannot be refused on demand under the Right to Information unless it affects the sovereignty of the state, security and personal safety of anyone. Do not be a threat to.
The Public Information Officer should preserve the desired video footage separately before refusing to provide the information by citing Section (8) of the RTI Act citing threat to security and sovereignty. There is no justification in refusing to give the desired footage to the applicant without preserving it under the Right to Information Act.
Such refusal is a crime of questioning the Public Information Officer’s bad faith towards the right to information and hiding evidence. The State Information Commission, while making this clear in a decision on the information of CCTV footage under the Right to Information Act, imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Poonam Saini, the then Public Information Officer of the Food Department of Haridwar, for refusing to give the CCTV footage without preserving it.
