Appeal No. CIC/CC/A/2015/001530/VS. Case: Subhash Chandra Agarwal Vs Central Public Information Officer, Prime Minister's Office. Central Information Commission
| Case Number | Appeal No. CIC/CC/A/2015/001530/VS |
| Judges | Vijai Sharma, Chief Information Commissioner |
| Issue | Right To Information Act, 2005 - Sections 10(1), 19(3), 19(8)(b), 6(3), 8(1), 8(1) (a), 8(1)(a), 8(2) |
| Judgement Date | December 01, 2015 |
| Court | Central Information Commission |
|
|
Decision: Vijai Sharma, Chief Information Commissioner RTI application 1. The appellant filed an application dated 14.09.2013 before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeking information/documents under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (the Act) on 17 points, inter alia, pertaining to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. 2. The CPIO, by a letter dated 18.09.2013, transferred the request to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Urban Development and the Cabinet Secretariat regarding points relevant to them. Regarding points 1 to 6 and 16, the CPIO informed the appellant that the request was not specific in terms of subject matter and time-frame and collection and compilation of such dispersed information would result in diversion of manpower. 3. The appellant filed a first appeal dated 30.09.2013 against reply dated 18.09.2013, which was decided by order dated 01.11.2013. The CPIO was directed to obtain fresh inputs in respect of point Nos. 1 to 6. 4. The CPIO, by a letter dated 21.11.2014, provided inputs to the appellant in respect of point Nos. 1 to 6. The appellant filed first appeal on 27.11.2014, which was disposed of by order dated 02.02.2015. The appellant filed a second appeal dated 19.02.2015 under section 19(3) of the Act in this Commission. Hearing 5. The appellant and the respondent both participated in the hearing personally. 6. When the hearing started, the appellant referred to a newspaper report published on 06.02.2015 wherein the Union Home Minister is stated to have said that there was a larger public interest involved in the disclosure of the documents relating to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. The appellant, relying on a report of PTI dated 30.07.2015, stated that the former Chief Information Commissioner, Shri Wajahat Habibullah, in an event organized by the Centre for Media Studies, had mentioned that a reason for not disclosing the files relating to the disappearance of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was that some of the files may not be available. 7. The appellant also mentioned that the present Chief Information Commissioner himself had suggested, as reported in the newspaper "Jagran" dated 15.06.2015, that the policy pertaining to the disclosure of secret files about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose needs review. 8. The appellant said that before he begins arguments on merit on 17 points mentioned in the RTI application, the respondent should indicate whether the requested information is available in the files which are currently in possession of the PMO. 9. The respondent stated that they were not aware of any news items... |
To continue reading
Request your trial