CIC notices to PMO, Guj on letters between Vajpayee and Modi

New Delhi, Sep 5 (PTI) The CIC has issued notices toPrime Minister’s Office and Gujarat government on the issue ofdisclosure of the correspondence exchanged between the thenChief Minister Narendra Modi and then Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee in the aftermath of the 2002 riots. Citing an order of the Delhi High Court which had saidthat views of third party as mandated in Section 11 and 19(4)of the RTI Act must be taken, Chief Information CommissionerRadha Krishna Mathur issued notices to the PMO and Gujaratgovernment (through its Chief Secretary) directing them topresent their submissions during the hearing in first week ofNovember. The case relates to Subhash Agrawal who had sought thedisclosure of communication through his RTI application datedDecember 16, 2013. In an earlier and separate RTI application filed byanother person, the Prime Minister’s Office had said thecommunication cannot be disclosed as it will adversely affectthe prosecution and conviction in the case. The applicant had sought copy of all communicationsexchanged between the PMO and the Gujarat government betweenFebruary 27, 2002 and April 30, 2002 on the law-and-ordersituation in the state. Later, on the directions first appellate authority in thePrime Minister’s Office, the CPIO had replied that they arealready in the process of taking views of the third party(which was Gujarat Government and Narendra Modi in the case).PTI ABS IKA ZMNIKA