HC to decide disclosure of RAW chief’s appointment details under RTI
26 Aug, 2012The information regarding the appointment of the chief of Research and analysis Wing (RAW) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act was sought by the RTI activist Subhash Agrawal. In the reply to the query, the Cabinet Secretariat refused to disclose the aforesaid information stating that RAW was exempted from mandatorily providing the information under the RTI Act under section 24 of the RTI Act.
The applicant approached the Central Information Commission (CIC). The Cabinet Secretariat stated during the hearing that the information could be delivered as the question was not about RAW but about the manner of the appointment of its head which comes under the jurisdiction of Cabinet Secretariat.
Holding that the appellate authority has accepted that the desired information does not relate to the exempted organisation but to the Cabinet Secretariat, the CIC ordered the release of the desired information. However, the government has decided to challenge the CIC order in Delhi High court. The decision of the government has been conveyed to the applicant.