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Face to face
Lamsalanki Pariat
1. What prompted you to file an RTI against MPSC?
Ans. After the MPSC declared the results of the prelim combined examination (MCS&MPS) my roll number did not come up. Initially I was shocked but then I accepted it. But then I had second thoughts and questioned where I had gone wrong. So I decided to meet Mr. Tarun Bhartiya and Mrs. Angela Rangad of the RTI movement for their guidance and support. This led to the filing of the RTI to the PIO of MPSC on the 1st of October. 2. By using RTI what have you found?
Ans. This is the VERY interesting part of it as according to the RTI Act 2005, the PIO should furnish the information tothe applicant within 30 days but it took him 55 days to reply to me. The PIO furnished only the question papers and the marks that I had secured while the other information was withheld as per Clause (J) of Section 8 and Section 9 (I) (J) of the RTI Act. Then I lodged an appeal with the DAA who is the Secretary of the MPSC against the PIO for his delay and his withholding of the information. To my surprise, the reply from the DAA stated that there is no law to penalise the PIO for the delay and that the DAA stood by the PIO’s decision. As I was not satisfied with this, I appealed to the CIC, Meghalaya Information Commission, Shillong. The honourable CIC admitted my petition and heard it for three dates. Out of these three dates, the DAA and PIO did not turn up for the hearings so the CIC passed an order to the DAA asking for the submission of a statement and also asking the PIO to show cause as to why he should not be penalised for the delay. The CIC also passed the order that the MPSC shall, within a period of 15 days from the date of the order disclose and furnish all relavent information. At last, Justice had prevailed and I was anxiously waiting for the call from the MPSC but it was on the evening of the 20th of March that I received a letter from the MPSC stating that they had filed a writ petition against the order of the CIC in the Shillong Bench of the Guwahati High Court. Hence the MPSC defied the order of the CIC and decided to challenge the decision in the Guwahati High Court.
3. How do you feel when you have been made a respondent against the decision of another government organisation?
Ans. The honourable CIC is passing the order against the MPSC and this has frightened the MPSC. This has resulted in me being made a respondent. This was a big surprise for me but it was a pleasant surprise. It could be because I am on the right track towards justice and also because so many people are behind me and this is what is causing the scare.
4. How significant is this case in terms of the future of the state and even your own future?
Ans. Most graduates in a stream apply for the job when openings are announced by the MPSC. It seems that all the youth blindly put in their application for a particular post. So when then they appear for an interview or written examination they do it just for the sake of it. I say this because it seems only 10 out of 100 qualify in these examinations. What happens is that those other 90 candidates leave without knowing where they have gone wrong. Shattering the confidence of the youth is not good for the future of the state. Now the significance is that if the High court rules in our favour, Pandora’s Box is opened. The secretive MPSC becomes more transparent and the candidates get to know the modal answer scripts and see their own answer scripts to improve for the future. Delhi High Court had given a ruling against the UPSC in a case between UPSC and the CIC where model answers and answer scripts of the candidates were made available within 15 days of the verdict. Also in a case between the Kolkota University and one of the candidates, the ruling was given in favour of the candidate. The Manipur Branch of Guwahati High Court had received a similar case which started from RTI by a candidate who had appeared for physical examination for the recruitment in Manipur Police. The bench ruled in the favour of the RTI applicant.
5. There is a question mark on the identity of the petitioner for the MPSC. Can you elaborate on this?
Ans. That is very interesting. Actually I don’t have absolute knowledge of the law. I just use my common sense and when I went through the writ petition submitted in the High Court by the petitioner along with my lawyer we found out that in the affidavit the petitioner has pleaded for MPSC but his connection with MPSC has not been stated. So we do not know who is this Ajay Tiwari is. Also Mr. Tiwari did not provide his signature. Till the 29th of April, Mr. Tiwari had not appeared before the court. Only when his lawyer stated that he is on medical leave did we come to know that he is the Secretary of MPSC. The rejoinder that was to be submitted to us in front of the court has not been done so far as he is on medical leave.
6. In India cases run for years and your case has already crossed six hearings. Now if the opposing party goes on extending the dates what would be your step?
Ans. The timing of my case in the Shillong Bench of the Guwahati High Court coincided with the petition of the suspension and disqualification of MLAs in Meghalaya. For that case, only one hearing was needed for an order to be passed but however in my case, the matter has dragged on through the 6th hearing and still no order has been passed. There is also the matter of postponement by the petitioner. I humbly appeal to the newly elected MP to the 15th Lok Sabha seat and to all our MLAs to reform the judicial system so that cases are dealt with in a speedy manner.
7. Are you ready to go all out then?
Ans. Very much prepared.
8. How much does this matter to you?
Ans. It matters to not only to me but to the public as a whole. Complaining about something is useless. It is high time for people to take responsibility and to take action. People have the power, don’t you think so?
