CIC serves notice to Legal Affairs Department

CHENNAI: The Central Information Commission has served a notice to department of legal affairs after it denied information pertaining to advices or opinion tendered by the department on four judgements of different high courts across the country on pay scales of data entry operators working in different ministries.The commission’s directive to all the officials concerned in the legal affairs department to appear before it on November 14 comes in the wake of Chennai-based RTI activist TVLN Mallikarjuna Rao filing the second appeal. Rao sought information on law ministry’s alleged different opinions on the pay scales of data entry operators, working in different ministries as the ministry has failed to implement the fifth pay commission’s recommendations. Interestingly, he was denied the information as the department maintained the advice tendered is confidential and in fiduciary relationship.Rao said the application was filed to find out the law ministry’s opinion over the Mumbai High Court judgement in 2008 and judgements issued by other high courts relying the said Bombay High Court judgement over the pay scales of data entry operators working in Controller General of Defence Accounts.