For how long should a citizen wait for information in a case which is pending for more than 23 years, Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra on Wednesday asked while slamming the Central Bureau of Investigation for withholding information in the Bofors pay-offs scam.
The case related to an RTI application seeking to know the reasons for filing case withdrawal application against one of the prime accused, Italian Businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, in the Delhi high court.
RTI applicant Ajay Agrawal had also wanted to know from the CBI about the brief given to the then Additional Solicitor General B Dutta who went to London in 2005 for de-freezing accounts of Quattrocchi and under whose orders he visited the United Kingdom.
The CBI said disclosure of these details could adversely affect its prosecution and the information should be withheld as per provisions of the RTI Act.
"How can giving reasons for filing withdrawal application in the court have any bearing on the case...You yourself (CBI) have said in the court that you don't want to pursue the case. You have made your desire to drop proceedings public," Mishra asked the CBI.
Rajiv Sharma, a CBI official representing the agency, said the court is yet to decide on the withdrawal application and the details on the reasons sought by the applicant contain the strength and weaknesses of the case.
If CBI's position is not accepted by the court, the weaknesses of the case can
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