Destroyed Netaji file: PMO asked to produce records

[Anuj Dhar]

Giving its decision on the vexed issued of a destroyed PMO file on Subhas Chandra Bose's fate, the Central Information Commission has directed the Prime Minister's Office to provide documents sought by Mission Netaji.

Justice for Subhas Chandra Bose

[karira]

PMO to disclose info on destroyed file on Netaji`s death: CIC
New Delhi, Aug 14: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the PMO to disclose copies of documents relating to the destruction of a file on the probe into the death of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

The order came on a Right To Information application of Delhi-resident Anuj Dhar, seeking copies of papers concerning the destruction, in 1972, of a PMO file titled "Investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of Sri Subhash Chandra Bose".

Dhar, an official of 'Mission Netaji' - a capital-based organisation - had sought certified copies of documents pertaining to destruction of the file which took place while a judicial inquiry on Netaji was on.

Taking note of two files, which had reference to the destruction of the file, as produced by the PMO during the hearing, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah directed the Prime Minister's Office to provide its copies to Dhar within a week.

Dhar while contending that there were "clearly" copies of documents relating to the file's destruction, had submitted before CIC various letters on Netaji's disappearance that were made available by the PMO to the Justice Mukherjee inquiry commission.

Earlier, the Central Public Information Officer of the PMO in response to Dhar's RTI plea had stated that the file was destroyed in 1972 during "routine process of review/weeding of old records."

Dhar's application which was originally filed with the Cabinet Secretariat on August 2 last year was transferred to the PMO.

Bureau Report

Zee News - PMO to disclose info on destroyed file on Netaji`s death: CIC

[Anuj Dhar]

thanx for posting this story. How can a file be destroyed a during a routine review when it is subject matter of an ongoing judicial inquiry. Who ordered the destruction and why?

btw, the official Justice for Subhas blog is up. There was some spam related issue.


Justice for Subhas Chandra Bose

[sidmis]

The government is finally preparing to make public a selection of secret and controversial documents relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s reported death and subsequent events.

The documents include communications to and from then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the chiefs of intelligence, which had been given to the Shah Nawaz Khan Committee of 1956 and Justice GD Khosla Commission of 1970.

Both had concluded that Netaji died in an air crash in August 1945, a conclusion trashed by the Justice M.K. Mukherjee Commission in its November 2005 report.

The documents were never allowed to be made public for the next four decades. Till July, the Union Home Ministry also staved off attempts to release them under the Right To Information law saying the documents sought were voluminous, top secret in nature and may lead to chaos in the country if disclosed.
But a Central Information Commission decision in the same month has helped bring about the change in its assessment.

Officials said the Shivraj Patil-led Home Ministry had come around to the view that there really was no fear of a law and order problem if the secret documents were revealed.
Last week, Patil moved the Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs to seek a decision on releasing the files.

Sources said the committee was, in principle, inclined to make the documents public but had sought some clarifications from the bureaucracy before putting its seal of approval.

There were concerns that people may read parts of the communication out of context, which could result in a controversy that would necessarily have political overtones.

But the overall view was the worst that the Congress-led coalition government may have to face was a controversy that would die a natural death.

But Anuj Dhar of Mission Netaji — the organisation that used the information law to seek access to the confidential Netaji papers — said he had his doubts if the ministry would declassify the whole lot comprising thousands of papers.

“They will hold back the sensitive papers,” said Dhar who authored Back from Dead: Inside the Subhas Bose Mystery, questioning the official plane crash version.

He had obtained information from the government in Taiwan in 2003, which claimed that no plane carrying Netaji had ever crashed there.

RTI effect: Netaji papers to be released- Hindustan Times

[Anuj Dhar]

This is a different case -- Mission Netaji seeking papers from MHA, the Ministry in charge of such intelligence related affairs.

There is no way Govt will release all papers -- including those kept by IB and RAW.