The Central Information Commission has asked the Home Ministry to compile a list of Indian Police Service officers who are facing criminal charges, PTI reported on Wednesday. The order was based on a petition filed by activist Nutan Thakur who had sought information about criminal cases registered against police officers.

Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad criticised the police wing of the Ministry of Home Affairs for referring the Right To Information query to the National Crime Records Bureau. The public information officer concerned had claimed that the Ministry of Home Affairs did not maintain files on the registration of criminal cases against officers and had transferred it to the National Crime Records Bureau.

Azad’s order said it was the responsibility of the ministry, as the parent authority of the India Police Service cadre, to compile the list and that the RTI petition was transferred without “application of mind”. “The National Crime Records Bureau is a bulk aggregator of crime records and does not segregate and retain record as per the requirement of the appellant,” Azad said. He ordered the ministry to send the list to the applicant within four weeks.

“As the cadre controlling authority, the ministry’s role is to look after the conditions of service of Indian Police Service officers,” said Azad, a former Indian Police Service officer. “It is the ministry’s duty to monitor disciplinary proceedings and enquiry against the officers.”