HC seeks response from Prez secretariat

The Delhi HC asked the President’s secretariat to disclose info on whether it had objected to a highrise apartment being built near Rashtrapati Bhavan

The Delhi high court on Wednesday asked the President’s Secretariat to disclose information on whether it had objected to a high- rise apartment complex being built near the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Justice Vibhu Bakhru, however, said any input received from security and intelligence agencies on the issue need not be disclosed till the Central Information Commission ( CIC) decides whether there was any element of corruption in the matter.

The observation by the court came in its order disposing of the Secretariat’s plea challenging the CIC’s direction to it to disclose whether it had raised any security concerns regarding the construction. The court said that since the Secretariat has admitted before it that it had raised security concerns regarding the high- rise construction, “there was no occasion” for it to deny disclosure of the information. Central government standing counsel Jasmeet Singh, appearing for the Secretariat, told the court that objections were raised, but the information was not provided to RTI applicant S. C. Agarwal as it contained inputs from security and intelligence agencies.

On the other hand, advocate Amit Khemka, appearing for Agarwal, said if the intelligence inputs pertained to allegations of corruption, it has to be disclosed under the Right to Information ( RTI) Act.

The court said the aspect of whether the information sought by the RTI applicant pertained to any corruption in the acquisition of 23 acres of land near the Rashtrapati Bhavan, shall be looked into by the Commission.

The court also said that information received from security and intelligence agencies is required to be shared under the RTI Act if it pertains to corruption. Noting that the CIC order of May 11, 2016, contained no reasoning or observations on the aspect of corruption, the court set it aside and remanded it back to the Commission for a decision on the issue. It said the CIC “shall pass a reasoned order expeditiously and within six months.”

— AFP An farmer transports bundles of sugarcane to sell it at a nearby mill near Ghaziabad on Wednesday. The Centre is set to focus on agricultural sector in its annual budget to be released on Thursday.