Hyderabad, March 04: On Thursday the Union of India informed the Andhra Pradesh High Court that Chapter 8 of Srikrishna Committee report could not be disclosed as it was a sensitive and privileged document. Additional Solicitor-General Vivek Tankha submitted to Justice L. Narasimha Reddy a sworn counter affidavit to this effect by the Under Secretary in the Home Ministry.
M. Narayana Reddy, a former MP, had filed the writ petition seeking disclosure of Chapter 8. The Government of India said the Committee was constituted on the basis of an executive order and not under the statute. It was not an adjudicatory or inquisitorial body. Chapter 8 did not contain anything that would be relevant to the general public, and the report was an internal matter of the government.
As the information was sensitive, the government had taken a decision not to make Chapter 8 public. Therefore, no further question arose of any judicial review of this decision, the government said.
After the counter affidavit was submitted, Gandra Mohan Rao, counsel for the petitioner, said he was ready to argue the matter on facts and law, and requested the court to take up the hearing. At that stage, Mr. Tankha, who had come from New Delhi, and another Additional Solicitor-General, Ravindran, who had come from Chennai, requested the court to adjourn the case to facilitate more comprehensive submissions. The case has been listed for March 16.
–Source: Flashnewstoday