Indian Express: Delhi: Wednesday, 11 October 2023.
In a case allegedly involving large-scale fraud, the Delhi High Court has observed that the Right to Information (RTI) Act exempts providing information which could impede the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
The order came in a man’s plea against a November 11, 2016, order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), which upheld the ruling of the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs. The petitioner had filed an RTI application with the CPIO seeking a copy of a 2015 CBI report and copies of notings at various levels in the Department of Economic Affairs concerning the processing of the CBI report and the action taken report (ATR).
He had further sought the comments of the Central Vigilance Commission on the ATR of the Department of Economic Affairs, copies of notes and correspondence, as well as the final orders passed by the minister/ministers of state of finance on the action proposed by CBI against the officers of Forward Markets Commission (FMC). The CPIO had denied giving the information, stating that it is exempted under the RTI Act. After his appeal was rejected, he moved the high court.
Dismissing his plea, a single-judge bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad, in its October 5 order, said, “Section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act specifically exempts such information which will impede the process of investigation revealing a copy of the entire report of the CBI. Further, if such information falls in the hands of other offenders, it will certainly impede an ongoing investigation process.”
The petitioner a retired member of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, was working with National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) as deputy secretary/director on deputation with the Department of Consumer Affairs. The CBI was investigating a case related to irregularities with the NSEL. A show-cause notice was issued to the petitioner on April 4, 2016, which said he acted in a perfunctory manner by facilitating the appointment of the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) as a designated agency to oversee the functioning of the commodity spot exchanges.
The high court noted that material on record indicated that there had been complaints and the CBI is conducting an investigation regarding the activities of the NSEL, which has resulted in a loss of about Rs 5,600 crore in 2013, with around 13,000 investors being investigated by different investigating agencies and that the CBI’s investigation was yet to be completed.
In a case allegedly involving large-scale fraud, the Delhi High Court has observed that the Right to Information (RTI) Act exempts providing information which could impede the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
The order came in a man’s plea against a November 11, 2016, order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), which upheld the ruling of the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs. The petitioner had filed an RTI application with the CPIO seeking a copy of a 2015 CBI report and copies of notings at various levels in the Department of Economic Affairs concerning the processing of the CBI report and the action taken report (ATR).
He had further sought the comments of the Central Vigilance Commission on the ATR of the Department of Economic Affairs, copies of notes and correspondence, as well as the final orders passed by the minister/ministers of state of finance on the action proposed by CBI against the officers of Forward Markets Commission (FMC). The CPIO had denied giving the information, stating that it is exempted under the RTI Act. After his appeal was rejected, he moved the high court.
Dismissing his plea, a single-judge bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad, in its October 5 order, said, “Section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act specifically exempts such information which will impede the process of investigation revealing a copy of the entire report of the CBI. Further, if such information falls in the hands of other offenders, it will certainly impede an ongoing investigation process.”
The petitioner a retired member of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, was working with National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) as deputy secretary/director on deputation with the Department of Consumer Affairs. The CBI was investigating a case related to irregularities with the NSEL. A show-cause notice was issued to the petitioner on April 4, 2016, which said he acted in a perfunctory manner by facilitating the appointment of the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) as a designated agency to oversee the functioning of the commodity spot exchanges.
The high court noted that material on record indicated that there had been complaints and the CBI is conducting an investigation regarding the activities of the NSEL, which has resulted in a loss of about Rs 5,600 crore in 2013, with around 13,000 investors being investigated by different investigating agencies and that the CBI’s investigation was yet to be completed.
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