The CIC has directed the Home Ministry to make public “each” exhibit listed in the Justice Mukherjee Commission report which probed the alleged disappearance of Subhash Chandra Bose in 1945, even if they belonged to other ministries and State governments.
The CIC had earlier directed the ministry to disclose the exhibits which belonged to it and were listed by the Justice Mukherjee Commission in its report but reserved its decision on the records which belonged to other ministries.
“The orders of Ministry of Home Affairs withholding part of information sought are set aside, a copy of each exhibit sought by the appellant... will be provided to him within 20 working days of the date of receipt of this decision notice,” Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said.
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The decision comes 34 months after Chandrachur Ghose, an executive with a private firm, filed his RTI application seeking disclosure of exhibits listed in the Justice Mukherjee Commission report.
Joint Secretary Lokesh Jha, representing the Home Ministry during the hearing at CIC last month had said the ministry had no problem in disclosing the documents pertaining to it, but it was not possible to provide papers of other ministries, PMO and some State governments mentioned in the report as they wanted their records back.