A former official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has alleged that he was denied salary for 15 months after he underwent a kidney transplantation, almost putting him to starvation.
P. Jayaseela Rao, who worked as a Senior Observer in the Nellore Observatory in 1992-96, said he underwent dialysis and subsequently a kidney transplantation. Though he attended to his regular duties after getting a medical certificate, he was not paid a salary.
The non-payment of salaries put him to starvation, Mr. Rao said while requesting the documents relating to the denial of his remuneration, details of medical bills that were not reimbursed, a copy of the medical certificate issued by Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, and Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati. However, his medical bills were later reimbursed following an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal.
The Chief Public Information Officer (CPIO), Office of the Head, Climate Research and Services, India Meteorological Department, said the records/claims of Mr. Rao were not available.
‘Incomplete and false’
Not satisfied with the response, Mr. Rao moved an appeal before the Central Information Commission saying the reply was incomplete, false, and misleading. When the matter came up for hearing, the CPIO maintained that the case was more than 28 years, and the records were not traceable.
After hearing both sides, the commission held that the respondent official had failed to explain the data/record retention policy of the department. Information Commissioner Kushwant Singh Sethi directed the CPIO to cross-check the records with the Chennai Branch and give a revised reply to the appellant incorporating the information sought on all the points as per the Right to Information (RTI) Act, depending on its availability.
Told to file affidavit
If records were not available, the official was told to file an affidavit on oath to the commission with a categorical statement on non-availability of the sought information by reproducing the data/record retention policy.
Published – February 03, 2026 11:45 pm IST
