The decision was taken by the Global Health Agency after conducting an inspection in March this year.

New Delhi:

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has issued a show-cause notice to the 'CPIO' of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for his 'wrong, vague and ill-considered' reply to an RTI application.

The person applying under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has received information from the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of CDSCO on the ban imposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the purchase of Bharat Biotech's anti-Covid-19 vaccine 'Covaccine'. had asked.

The commission has directed CPIO of CDSCO, Sushant Sarkar, to explain why punitive action should not be taken against him under section 20 of the RTI Act for refusing to provide information.

RTI petitioner Saurav Das had filed a complaint with the commission against the government for refusing to provide information on the subject.

Under Section 20 of the RTI Act, if the CIC agrees that the refusal to provide the information is improper and done with malicious intent, it may impose a fine of Rs 250 per day.

This amount will be deducted from the salary of the CPIO.

The maximum limit of fine will be Rs 25,000.

Das, through his RTI application, had requested to provide information on the WHO withholding the supply of covaccine through UN procurement agencies.

The decision was taken by the Global Health Agency after conducting an inspection in March this year.

The person making the application sought to know from the CDSCO whether it had taken cognizance of the issue and the date when it was taken up with the competent authority and the action taken.

He also requested to provide information whether any reports or clarifications were sought from Bharat Biotech, or any inspections at Bharat Biotech centers conducted by CDSCO, or any correspondence with WHO.

To this, the CPIO of CDSCO had given a one line reply, "No such information is available".





(This news has not been edited by NDTV team. It has been published directly from Syndicate feed.)