CIC slams Defence Ministry's for its obsession with secrecy

CIC slams Defence Ministry's for its obsession with secrecy1 Jan 2008, 0251 hrs IST,TNN

NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission has asked the Defence Ministry to spell out the details and records which it could reveal to the public at large, even as it chided the government for being "obsessive" with "confidentiality". The CIC asked the Defence Ministry to outline a "de-classification policy" for release of information in public domain, an agency report said. Information Commissioner A N Tiwari, hearing the petition from a journalist seeking details of INS Khukri's sinking in the Arabian Sea in 1971 after being torpedoed by a Pakistani submarine, said, "It is better to draw out a determination as to what (details) you want to part with and what you do not want to give." The petitioner had sought details from the Defence Ministry but was denied the same, after which the CIC was approached. The commission's bench headed by Chief Information Commissioner WajahatHabibullah did not find any fault with the ministry's reply but it expressed concern about the government's tendency to keep information out of a citizen's reach. Taking an apparent dig at the contention raised by officials that every data on INS Khukri's sinking, if released, could compromise its tactical thought process, Tiwari asked, "Can the country be held hostage for failure of the defence?" Drawing out a comparison with the Royal Navy of Britain, Tiwari said while all relevant information pertaining to HMS Sheffield, destroyed by an Argentine missile in 1982, was open to general public, the Indian counterpart was still reluctant to part with such information