New Delhi: The Central Information Commission (CIC) in the wake of the deemed university row, has condemned the University Grants Commission (UGC) for keeping in abeyance and not ensuring transparency in the information regarding deemed universities.

The CIC took a stern stance and ruled that, "It appears that UGC is not abiding by the Right to Information Act," and has bashed up a compensation of Rs.2000 and issued a show-cause notification to it for not responding within the stipulated 30 day period to an applicant.

A.N. Prasad, an applicant of the RTI Act had sought information on the number of times during the period 2005-09, the review committee had rejected applications of colleges and universities for deemed status along with the copies of those reports due to which the recognition could not be granted to a college or university during the same period.

Information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi ruled that UGC had no reasons for refusing the information.

"It is very sad that the UGC appears to be functioning unknown of its state of affairs," said Gandhi in his order.

The order further added that, "The commission will not tolerate any misconduct of such behaviour by the UGC which gives out a wrong message that the RTI Act does not apply to it. It recommends the chairman to ensure that its officers know to respect the law and are trained in the RTI Act."