Officer facing disciplinary action can seek office notings: HC

An officer facing disciplinary action is entitled to know the office notings in UPSC files and correspondence exchanged between the commission and the department concerned, the Delhi High Court has held.
Justice V K Jain disposed of a batch of petitions filed by UPSC against the CIC's directions to it for supply of information to various officers against whom disciplinary proceedings were initiated or likely to be held.
Rejecting the commission's argument that supply of information would affect its function, Justice Jain said, "When the file noting is sought by a person in respect of whom advice is rendered by UPSC it cannot be said to be indiscriminate or all and sundry information, which would affect the functioning of UPSC.

"Such notings are available in the file in which advice is recorded by UPSC and, therefore, it would not at all be difficult to provide the same to the information seeker."
The court directed UPSC to provide information to the officers within four weeks.
However, it said the date and the signature of the officer who had recorded the noting should be removed while providing such information.
"The copies of office notings... Shall be provided to the respondents after removing from the notings and correspondence, (a) the date of the noting and the letter, as the case may be; (b) the name and designation of the person recording the noting and writing the letter and; (c) any other indication in the noting and/or correspondence which may reveal or tend to reveal the identity of author of the noting/letter, as the case may be...," the court said.