Economic Times: New Delhi: Thursday, July 06, 2017.
Details of
the dossiers handed by India to Pakistan in 2010 cannot be disclosed as they
may "prejudicially" affect relations between the two countries, the Central
Information Commission has ruled on a plea by a 2006 Mumbai train bombings convict.
Ehtesham
Qutubuddin Siddiqui had filed an RTI application with the Ministry of External Affairs
on October 17, 2015, days after being awarded the death sentence by a special MCOCA
court for his role in the serial blasts.
Siddiqui had
sought a copy of all the documents in the files of the dossiers handed over by then
Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao to her Pakistani counterpart Salman
Bashir. India had reportedly handed over three dossiers to Pakistan during the
foreign secretary level talks in February 2010.
"From
the perusal of the records, it is observed from the reply given by CPIO that dissemination
of the sought for information would prejudicially affect the relations of India
with a foreign State (Pakistan)," Chief Information Commissioner R K
Mathur said.
He said MEA
had "rightly denied the information" relying on the exemption
available under section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act.
Siddiqui was
awarded capital punishment by a special MCOCA court in Mumbai along with four other
accused of carryng out the blasts.
The blasts
had ripped through Mumbai's suburban trains within a span of 10 minutes between
Khar Road-Santacruz, Bandra-Khar Road, Jogeshwari-Mahim Junction, Mira Road-
Bhayander, Matunga-Mahim Junction and Borivali -- killing 188 people.
On September
30, 2015, Special Judge Yatin D Shinde had pronounced capital punishment for Siddiqui,
Kamal Ahamed Ansari, Mohd Faisal Shaikh, Naveed Hussain Khan and Asif Khan, all
of them bomb planters.