Indian Express: New Delhi: Friday, September 30, 2016.
The Central
Information Commission has issued notice to the ACP of the licensing branch of
Delhi Police for refusing to release information requested by a south Delhi
resident about an application for arms licence.
H K Nijhawan
had filed an RTI seeking a copy of the arms licence issued to him in 2011. The
licence was later cancelled. Nijhawan told The Indian Express his arms licence
was cancelled after he filed a PIL before the Delhi High Court alleging that
“anti-social elements” in Delhi were keeping firearms by using fake arms
licences procured from other states.
Following the
PIL, Delhi Police had informed the court that it was looking into the issue of
fake arms licences and had cancelled over 300 ‘fake licences’ procured from
outside Delhi.
In his
arguments before the CIC, Nijhawan had alleged that police cancelled his
licence to “create pressure” on him to withdraw the PIL. The CIC in its order
issued on September 23 held that Delhi Police licensing branch could not have
denied copies of the file pertaining to Nijhawan’s own licence under the RTI
Act.
Police had
argued that Nijhawan’s RTI application was declined because the verification
process for arms licence was “confidential government work” and disclosure of
the identity of the person on whose complaint the licence had been cancelled
would “endanger the life or physical safety of such a person”.
The
commission observed that the “confidential” information regarding the
complainant could have been removed from the documents before supplying a copy
to the petitioner.
.JPG)
.JPG)
