State Information Commission issues summons to six officials for absence during hearings

The State Information Commission has issued summons to six government officials who failed to appear for hearings.

Two officers each of the District Scheduled Tribes Office in Wayanad and the Vigilance (North Zone), Kozhikode district, the headmaster of the AUP School, Eravannoor, and the State House Officer, Sholayar, Palakkad, have been directed to report at the Commission’s headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on December 11 with their explanations.

State Information Commissioner A. Abdul Hakeem said that the officials concerned should appear in person for hearings if they are asked to be present. The Commission will not accept stand-in officials, he said. The Commission also sent back two persons who appeared on behalf of the officials who were supposed to be present at the hearings.

Mr. Hakeem also noted that files going missing from government offices is a criminal offence, punishable with imprisonment up to five years and a fine of ₹10,000. In the latest incident, a statement was given before the Commission that a file from the Maniyoor grama panchayat had gone missing. The Commission has ordered that the file should be recovered within 14 days.