VINOD KUMAR BINDAL vs CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSIONER AND ORS.

Judgment text excerpt

$~J * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Judgment pronounced on: 17.04.2025 + W.P.(C) 3171/2018 VINOD KUMAR BINDAL .....Petitioner Through: Dr. Amit George, Advocate along with Mr. Siddharth Garg and Ms. Suparna Jain, Advocates. versus CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSIONER AND ORS. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Atul Guleria, SPP, CBI along with Mr. Aryan Rakesh and Mr. Pankaj Kumar, Advocates. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SACHIN DATTA JUDGMENT 1. The present petition has been filed by the petitioner challenging the order dated 19.12.2017, passed by respondent no. 1, i.e., the Central Information Commission (CIC), in Appeal No. CIC/ MPERS/ A/2017/ 107414/MP. The impugned order dismissed the petitioner’s second appeal under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act). 2. The petitioner is a practicing Chartered Accountant, residing in New Delhi. His name was included in a list of “Undesirable Contact Men” (UCM) which was allegedly circulated by the CBI and subsequently published in various newspaper clippings. 3. Thereafter, these clippings, with the CBI’s emblem on them, were uploaded on the CBI’s official website. As per these reports, government W.P.(C) 3171/2018 Page 1 of 15 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:ABHISHEK THAKUR Signing Date:21.04.2025 20:12:20 officials were cautioned against dealing with, associating with, or accepting hospitality and gifts from individuals named in the UCM list. 4. The petitioner submits that the publication of this list has significantly tarnished the petitioner’s professional reputation. It is submitted that he was previously empanelled with the Income Tax Department to conduct special audits under Section 142(2A) of the Income Tax Act. However, since the circulation of this list in 2005, his name has been removed from the p