Chandigarh: The Punjab State Information Commission has directed the commissioner of the Amritsar municipal corporation to appear before it and submit a compliance report, while imposing a Rs 25,000 penalty on the public information officer (PIO) for repeatedly ignoring its directions in an RTI case.Information commissioner Harpreet Singh Sandhu passed the order while hearing an appeal filed by an Amritsar resident seeking information under the RTI Act.The commission noted that the PIO failed to appear before it in five consecutive hearings between Aug 2025 and Jun 2026, despite repeated directions. It also said the municipal commissioner had failed to submit a compliance report as directed, delaying adjudication of the appeal.Observing that the respondent authority had “virtually made a mockery” of the RTI Act, the commission said the repeated non-compliance undermined transparency and accountability.The commission also noted that despite a show-cause notice issued in Dec 2025, the PIO neither explained the non-compliance nor furnished the information sought. It ordered recovery of the Rs 25,000 penalty from the PIO’s salary and directed the municipal commissioner to appear before it on the next hearing on Sept 21.
