The Economic Times: New Delhi: Monday, May 27, 2013.
The Central
Information Commission has dismissed an RTI appeal seeking disclosure of a
report on Volcker Committee investigation in oil-for-food scam in which names
of some prominent Indian politicians had emerged.
A full bench
of the CIC decided that disclosure of report given by special envoy Virendra
Dayal after meeting officials of Volcker Committee "may adversely affect
the friendly relations of India with the foreign countries under
reference."
The decision
comes seven years after the RTI application was filed by activist Arun Kumar
Aggarwal in 2006.
The case
relates to application filed by Aggrawal who had sought the entire file
containing note sheets relating to the report of Dayal, who was appointed by the
government as special envoy to coordinate with UN officials on the Paul Volcker
Committee report.
The Paul
Volcker Committee was set up by the UN in April, 2004 to probe corruption and
fraud in its oil-for-food programme in Iraq, in which name of former External
Affairs minister Natwar Singh allegedly figured as a beneficiary.
After initial
reluctance and repeated transfers of the RTI application, the Finance Ministry
had accepted that the file was with the Enforcement Directorate.
When the
matter had reached the CIC, then chief information commissioner Wajahat
Habibullah had directed the ED to produce the file for its perusal to decide on
its disclosure under the Right to Information Act.
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