MIANWALI: The Punjab Information Commission has issued a notice to the University of Sargodha (UoS) Bhakkar campus director for violating the Right To Information (RTI) Act and not sharing information with a complainant who sought details of laptops distributed among students under the prime minister’s scheme.

The information about criteria for the selection of a student was also requested under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013.

Earlier, Raza Ali, a resident of Bhakkar city, told Dawn that several students informed him about the alleged faulty distribution of laptops at the university’s Bhakkar campus.

Being a noble citizen, he claimed, he filed on June 7 an information request with the campus director under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013, seeking information regarding details of laptops distributed under Prime Minister Laptop Scheme phase III and detailed criteria of selection of students. But he said the official did not share the information and his behaviour made the process suspicious. After failing to get a response from the campus director, the complainant approached Punjab information commissioner.

The commissioner in his notice said it was a legal right of any citizen to access information from public institutions. He directed the university administration/director to immediately provide the requested information to the complainant and explain the reasons, including rebuttal — if any, of alleged non-response or delay in deciding the matter.

It was also directed that the report along with relevant supporting documents regarding this complaint should reach the commissioner within two weeks from the date of notice. Any violation of the law, including delays beyond prescribed timeframe, could result in penalties in accordance with Section 15 or 16 of the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2017