Govt of India denies information on gangster Chhota Rajan's passport under RTI, says it's a "personal" matter

The Union ministry of external affairs (MEA) has rejected the release, under the right to information (RTI) Act, to records relating to the issue of the fake passport of top underworld don Chhota Rajan, whose capture in Indonesia last month was sought to be projected as a major breakthrough by the Government of India.
Upon his arrest in Indonesia, the media reported that he was traveling with a false identity and used a fake passport, which played a key role in his eventual identification by the immigration authorities.
“The MEA invoked Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act to reject the request holding that it was ‘personal information' and also cited a judgment of the Delhi High Court in support of its rejection”, said Venkatesh Nayak, well-known RTI and human rights activist in an email alert.
“In this case the High Court overturned an order of the Central Information Commission to disclose certain information relating to an individual's passport citing absence of public interest”, Nayak, who is with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), said.
“It is not clear whose privacy MEA is desirous of protecting - the fake individual in whose name the passport was issued or the individual who used the fake passport”, wondered Nayak, adding, “It is also strange that a few months ago the same Government expressed doubts about whether Article 21 of the Constitution was correctly interpreted to include the right to privacy of individuals.”
Argued Nayak, “The very constitutional basis for Section 8(1)(j) as a trump on citizens' right to information has disappeared thanks to the submissions of the Government of India made through the Attorney General of India.”
Nayak said, “The MEA gave a vague reply to the query about the procedures followed to determine the legality and correctness of the procedures followed for issue of fresh passports by Indian missions abroad”, adding, “It only replied with information that is already known about the laws and rules that apply for the issue of passports.”
In yet another application filed by Nayak with CBI seeking a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1998 in relation to issue of the fake passport, Nayak said, “More than 30 days have passed since the RTI application was dispatched to the CBI via speed post. The CBI has not bothered to reply.”
This has happened despite the fact that the print and electronic media reported that the fake passport had been issued in the name of a person alleged to be a resident of Karnataka. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is said to have registered a First Information Report against unnamed officials under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and launched an investigation.
Nayak said, all this poses a “challenge” before various constitutional courts, adding, “It is most unfortunate that the Prime Minister's noble commitment to make the Central Government more transparent and accountable to the people has simply not percolated down the bureaucracy.”

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog