A former India Meteorological Department (IMD) official has claimed he was denied salary for 15 months after he underwent a kidney transplant, which nearly drove him to starvation.
P. Jayaseela Rao, who worked as chief observer at the Nellore observatory from 1992-96, said he underwent dialysis and subsequently a kidney transplant. Although he performed his normal duties after receiving a medical certificate, he was not paid.
The non-payment of wages has led him to starvation, Mr. Rao said, as he demanded documents relating to the denial of his remuneration, details of medical bills that had not been paid, 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 by order of the Central Administrative Court.
Chief Public Information Officer (CPIO), Office of Head, Climate Research and Services, India Meteorological Department, said Mr. Rao’s records/claims are not available.
‘Incomplete and untrue’
Unsatisfied with the reply, Mr. Rao appealed to the Central Information Commission saying the reply was incomplete, false and misleading. When the matter came up for hearing, the CPIO claimed that the case was more than 28 years old and the records were not traceable.
After hearing both sides, the commission found that the respondent official failed to explain the department’s data/records retention policy. Information Commissioner Kushwant Singh Sethi directed the CPIO to cross-check the records with the Chennai branch and provide a revised reply to the petitioner containing the information required on all points under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, subject to availability.
He said to file an affidavit
If the records were not available, the officer was told to submit an affidavit to the commission categorically stating the non-availability of the information sought by reproducing the data/records retention policy.
Published – 03 Feb 2026 23:45 IST
