Disclosure of information on mercy petition
16 Dec, 2011Questions have been raised regarding the long delay in taking a decision on mercy petition and whether it constitutes a matter of public-interest that too involving life and liberty of individuals.
Earlier, the Home Ministry had refused to disclose information related to processing of clemency plea of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru citing the exemption under section 8(1)(a), 8(1)(g) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes; and 8(1)(i) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers: Provided that the decisions of Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material on the basis of which the decisions were taken shall be made public after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete, or over: Provided further that those matters which come under the exemptions specified in this section shall not be disclosed; of the RTI Act. The MHA had in a different matter refused to disclose information about the decision taken to reject the mercy petition of - Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan - those convicted in assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi citing section 8(1)(a), 8(1)(b) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court; and 8(1)(g) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes; of the RTI Act. In some cases in the past, the Information Commission has allowed the disclosure of file notings related to action taken on mercy pleas filed by prisoners sentenced to death as the matter related to life and liberty of these people.