The
Times of India: New Delhi: Monday, November 19, 2012.
The Central
Information Commission (CIC) has directed the cabinet secretariat to inquire
into allegations made by Indian Airlines CMD Sunil Arora against the then civil
aviation minister alleging that he had overturned decisions taken by the Indian
Airlines board and caused financial loss to the public exchequer.
In a recent
order, chief information commissioner Satyananda Mishra asked the cabinet
secretariat to inquire into the allegations. The order was in response to an
RTI application by activist S C Agrawal on the basis of a TOI report.
The
commission also said that Agrawal should be given a hearing by the cabinet
secretariat. Agrawal has been called on November 20 for the hearing. Arora had
complained in a May 28, 2005 letter to former cabinet secretariat B K
Chaturvedi that he and the IA board were being pressured by then civil aviation
minister Praful Patel and his OSD to take financially damaging and commercially
unviable decisions.
Agrawal had
sought to know what action was taken on the basis of the allegations raised by
Arora and if there had been any other complaints against the minister.
In its order,
the CIC said, "We direct the appellate authority to enquire into the
allegations made by the complainant and after giving him an opportunity of
hearing, to pass an appropriate order with a view to ensuring that the desired
information is provided to the complainant without any further loss of
time."
The
commission also pulled up the cabinet secretariat for not providing the
information in time and sought an explanation on the delay and why a penalty
should not be imposed.
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