Details of lunch hosted by Congress president not to be disclosed under RTI
6 Aug, 2013
An application was filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get the details of the expenses incurred on a lunch hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi at Ashoka Hotel in July, 2012.
The Ashoka Hotel, in its reply to the application, stated that the demanded information could not be provided as it was of commercial confidence in nature and that disclosing such information could compromise its market position. It held that the hotel was not bound to reveal the payment details of its clients and guests especially as the bills were not paid by the government or any public office.
As the matter was brought before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra found that the bills for the mentioned lunch were not paid by any government department or ministry. He stated in the order that no further information was left to be disclosed and hence the appeal was disposed off.