Chennai, 23 December (H.S.) : The Tamil Nadu State Information Commission has ordered departmental action against a Public Information Officer for providing false information to an appellant. Led by State Chief Information Commissioner Md Shakeel Akther, the Commission passed this order during a hearing on a non-compliance petition filed by S Zahir Hussain.

The case pertains to a request for information from the Sub-Registrar Office in Kayalpattinam. Despite earlier directions to provide the details, the appellant had approached the Commission again, claiming that the previous orders were not followed correctly and the information received was inaccurate.

During the proceedings, the Public Information Officer, P Kannan, who serves as the Sub-Registrar of Kayalpattinam, claimed that the information had already been dispatched and provided a postal acknowledgment as proof. However, the appellant argued that the response was misleading.

The query specifically sought details regarding the register of documents registered without a patta. In his reply, the officer had stated that no such register was maintained by the office. The Commission scrutinized this claim and concluded that the information was false, noting that maintaining such registers is a mandatory duty of the Sub-Registrar.

Taking a serious view of the negligence, the Commission has directed the Deputy Inspector General of Registration in Tirunelveli to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the officer. Authorities have been instructed to submit a detailed action-taken report to the Commission by January 31, 2026.

This directive aims to ensure accountability within public offices and uphold the transparency mandated under the Right to Information Act. The Commission further emphasized that providing incorrect data defeats the very purpose of the legislation and will not be tolerated.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary