The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the Centre’s response on a petition by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy seeking information regarding Chinese incursions into the Indian territory under the Right to Information Act, Bar and Bench reported.
A single-judge bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad issued the notice to the ministries of home affairs, defence and external affairs, and the Central Information Commission. The matter has been listed for hearing in January 2024.
Swamy said in his plea that he had filed an RTI application in November, seeking information about the extent of Indian land that has been lost to China. He also sought to know how many times and on what dates has there been Chinese military incursions on Indian territory from across the Line of Actual Control since 1996.
However, Swamy said, that his application was transferred between various departments, even after the expiry of the timeline to receive a response as per the RTI Act. He then filed a first appeal in January, which was also transferred among various departments without resolution.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader filed the second appeal in March before the Chief Information Commission, but never received a response.
“The petitioner submits that as per law laid down by various high courts, the CIC is under an obligation to dispose of all Second Appeals within a period of 45 days,” his plea said.
Swamy also submitted that the information sought by him is crucial and pertains to India’s sovereignty and integrity. The relevance and requirement of the information will be defeated by delay, he argued.
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