HYDERABAD - State PSC contests APIC decision on answer scripts

In what seems to be a blatant violation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and defiance of the authority of Andhra Pradesh Information Commission (APIC), the state's public service commission (APPSC) has refused to comply with an order issued by the former. The APIC had ordered the commission to give a petitioner, K Shekar Babu, photocopies of his Group-I mains answer scripts in August this year. But the APPSC turned down the order and also shot back a letter to Jannat Husain, chief information commissioner (CIC) for AP, stating that it is not "feasible to comply with the order."

RTI activists rued that this is the first written response by a public authority in the state to APIC, questioning its decision. As per the RTI law, such orders are binding and can be challenged only in a higher court of law (high court or Supreme Court).

Petitioner, Shekar Babu, had appeared for the Group-I mains examination in 2008, but failed to get selected for the interviews. As he was expecting more marks than what was awarded, Babu approached APPSC and submitted a request under RTI, demanding photostat copies of his answer scripts. As his request was turned down, he approached the APIC, which issued an order in August 2011, asking the APPSC to release his answer scripts.

In its letter to Jannat Husain, APPSC stated that it consulted Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on the matter and is acting as per its advice. "The APPSC says that it consulted UPSC, which stated that the Supreme Court order cited by APIC that allows release of answer scripts to petitioners, pertains only to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). But it should be noted that APPSC has no right to analyse an APIC order and later refuse to comply with it. The APIC should act at once against this move, so that a bad precedent won't be set," said Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, an RTI activist. from the city. He added that APIC should summon the higher-ups of APPSC asking them for an explanation on why its order was not followed. RTI activists also said that the public service commission has interpreted the order of APIC and marked its disagreements, thereby defying the RTI law, which states that an order by CIC is binding.

Meanwhile, Shekar Babu said that the APPSC has quashed his five year old legal battle on the issue. "The fact that the commission does not want to release the scripts even after an APIC order raises doubts about its evaluation process," Babu said. RTI activists said that APPSC's refusal could set a precedent for other government bodies to defy the information commission. "If APPSC is not challenged, any public officer could, in future, refuse information to people. ," Rakesh Reddy said.