GIC removed secrecy surrounding ACR of bureaucrats

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) had in March 2007 removed the cloak of secrecy surrounding annual confidential reports (ACR) of bureaucrats in the state. It had allowed access to officers to their ACRs under RTI.
Bureaucrats had been allowed access after the then state industries commissioner and secretary of IAS association, Arvind Agarwal and two others had complained before GIC.
The General Administration Department (GAD) had been denying officers access to their ACRs relying on its November 14, 2005 circular. GIC struck it down reasoning that when RTI is in force, such circulars are not binding.
State chief information commissioner RN Das had observed in his order "no appraiser can present the truest picture of the performance of the appraisee if there is absolutely no sharing of information between the two."