Black Money SIT is public authority under RTI: Govt of India told as officials refuse info on Falciani allegations

Herve Falciani

By A Representative
In a significant ruling, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has held the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Government of India to investigate all matters relating to black money in 2014 soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP won a resounding victory in Lok Sabha polls, is a public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
The black money SIT is headed by two retired justices of the Supreme Court and comprises of senior representatives of various ministries, departments and agencies, engaged in ensuring law enforcement and tax compliance.
The ruling comes following the argument of a Government of India official, attached with the Union finance ministry, in an appeal filed by senior RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak, that black money SIT saying that “no designated Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) and First Appellate Authority (FAA) was appointed by the SIT”, even as replying in the “negative” when CIC asked if he had any objections if the SIT was declared as a public authority.
Nayak, who is with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), had gone to the CIC to get a ruling that the black money SIT was a public authority after the Government of India successively refused to part any information for about one-a-half years on what exactly it was doing with regard to whistleblower Herve Falciani’s allegation that the authorities in India were “not doing enough” to make use of the materials he had supplied to them about illegal funds stashed abroad.
The SIT was constituted in compliance of the directives of the Supreme Court in the matter of Ram Jethmalani & Ors vs Union of India & Ors -- popularly known as the black money case and a landmark judgement in RTI jurisprudence.
A former employee of HSBC Bank, based on Falciani’s allegation, on November 4, 2015, Nayak filed an RTI request with the with the authorities in the black money SIT seeking copies the letter reportedly written by Falciani to the chairman, SIT, of responses sent by the SIT to Falciani, of file notings related to Falciani’s letter, and documents containing details of action taken on Falciani’s letter.
Says Nayak, “as it happens often”, the authorities in the Ministry of Finance “played soccer with my RTI application for more than a month” and finally an official of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) “rejected” access to information sought by claiming that “ongoing investigations would be hampered”.
Interestingly, the official reply referred to the suppliers of materials (such as Mr. Falciani) as "certain persons claiming to be whistleblowers". Comments Nayak, “Such replies are but natural in a situation where the government is keen on diluting the Whistleblower Protection Act instead of implementing it.”
After waiting for a reply from the black money SIT for 140 days, Nayak filed a complaint before the CIC to declare the SIT as a 'public authority' under the RTI Act, which led the CIC to direct the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to declare the black money SIT as such.
Hoping that this would help him get the required information from the black money SIT, Nayak says, “CIC's order is a very positive step in the direction of expanding the regime of transparency to bodies that meet the criteria of a 'public authority' but do not comply with the provisions of the RTI Act for reasons best known to them.”
“Despite this case taking almost two years to reach finality, this is a timely development on the eve of the RTI Act entering the thirteenth year of implementation. It remains to be seen whether the SIT and the Government will comply with this order or challenge it before the courts”, he adds.

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

Search This Blog