The Hindu : National : Plea seeks information on Savarkar plaque removal

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Saturday, Dec 02, 2006
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Plea seeks information on Savarkar plaque removal

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday admitted a petition seeking information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on the facts and circumstances that led to the removal of the plaque of freedom fighter Veer Savarkar from the Cellular Jail at Port Blair by the Indian Oil Foundation Trust.

A Bench, comprising Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justice C.K. Thakker, said the matter required examination as important issues were involved.

The plaque was removed when Mani Shankar Aiyar headed the trust in his de facto capacity as Petroleum Minister.

The Bench asked the Trust to file additional documents in four weeks, and petitioner Sanjiv Gajanan Punalekar to file a rejoinder in four weeks thereafter.

Appearing for the Trust, senior counsel Jawaharlal Gupta said the Trust would not come within the purview of public authority.

The Bench pointed out that Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was a public authority, and whether a Trust run by it would come under the RTI Act or not required examination.

The petitioner referred to reports in various newspapers between August and December 2004 on the removal of the plaque that contained verses of Savarkar from the Swatantrya Jyot at the Cellular Jail. Though the issue was raised in Parliament on August 18, 2004, the Centre did not offer any explanation for the removal.

He approached IOC and the Trust seeking information, but it was refused on the ground that the Trust was not a public authority. As IOC was providing funds to the Trust, he contended that its activities would come within the ambit of public authority. He sought a direction to the Trust to furnish the information sought.

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