CIC dismisses RTI plea on sensitive grounds

New Delhi (PTI): The Central Information Commission (CIC) has dismissed an RTI appeal seeking disclosure of a report on Volcker Committee investigation in oil-for-food scam in which names of some prominent Indian politicians had emerged. A full bench of the CIC decided that disclosure of report given by special envoy Virendra Dayal after meeting officials of Volcker Committee "may adversely affect the friendly relations of India with the foreign countries under reference." The decision comes seven years after the RTI application was filed by activist Arun Kumar Aggarwal in 2006. The case relates to application filed by Aggrawal who had sought the entire file containing note sheets relating to the report of Dayal, who was appointed by the government as special envoy to coordinate with UN officials on the Paul Volcker Committee report. The Paul Volcker Committee was set up by the UN in April, 2004 to probe corruption and fraud in its oil-for-food programme in Iraq, in which name of former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh allegedly figured as a beneficiary. After initial reluctance and repeated transfers of the RTI application, the Finance Ministry had accepted that the file was with the Enforcement Directorate. When the matter had reached the CIC, then chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah had directed the ED to produce the file for its perusal to decide on its disclosure under the Right to Information Act.