CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the state government to give information under the Right To Information Act to an applicant on why it dropped criminal proceedings against three officials of the Indian Rare Earths Limited for indiscriminate mining in Kanyakumari.
The state government had refused to part with the information. Even after the Chief Information Commission upheld the applicant's right to demand information relating to the withdrawal of the case, the government moved the Madras High Court against the order.
Justice K Chandru, dismissing the writ petition filed by the government, said the information would not be covered by the exemption clauses under the Act and that the exemption was available only when it is considered to be an impediment to the process of investigation.
Concurring with the submissions of senior counsel A L Somayaji, who appeared for the RTI applicant, the judge also held that the application had sought to know the details of the public prosecutor's opinion, only from the government and not from the prosecutor himself. Hence, the question of privileged communication from the client and counsel too does not arise, he said.
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