The Hindu: Madurai: Thursday,
March 27, 2014.
The Union
Ministry of External Affairs has conceded that the Centre has been imparting
long-term and short-term training in technical and non-technical streams for
Sri Lankan Navy personnel in order to enhance maritime security in the region.
However, it
has refused to disclose details of training modules and domestic locations
where such training is being imparted on the ground that they relate to
information shared with a foreign country and, therefore, exempted from being
disclosed under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Mayank Joshi,
Deputy Secretary (Sri Lanka) and Chief Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the
Ministry, had made the observation in reply to an RTI application filed by K.K.
Ramesh, Managing Trustee of Tamil Nadu Centre for Public Interest Litigation, a
Madurai-based NGO.
Similar
question
The CPIO also
said All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Member of Parliament P.
Venugopal, representing Tiruvallur constituency, had raised a similar question
in the Lok Sabha and wanted to know the details of training imparted to Lankan
Navy personnel.
Answering the
question on February 5 this year, Union Minister of State for External Affairs
Preneet Kaur had said: “Training exchanges are conducted regularly between
defence personnel of India and various neighbouring countries, including Sri
Lanka.
“Training
assistance to Sri Lankan Navy officers is being undertaken by (the) government
with a view to further enhancing maritime security in the region. Short-term
and long-term training programmes, in technical and non-technical streams, are
conducted for armed forces personnel of foreign countries, including Sri
Lanka.”
The RTI
applicant had made an identical application to the Union Ministry of Defence
too. But it was rejected by its Under Secretary Prem Prakash on the ground that
the information sought for could not be provided in view of the bar on
disclosing classified information.
Nevertheless,
armed with the External Affairs Ministry’s reply, Mr.Ramesh filed a public
interest litigation petition in the Madras High Court Bench here seeking a direction
to restrain the Centre from providing training to the Lankan Navy.
The case came
up before a Division Bench comprising Justices A. Selvam and V.S. Ravi on
Tuesday, and it directed the High Court Registry to post it before a Division
Bench of Justices V. Ramasubramanian and V.M. Velumani on Wednesday.