New Delhi, 26 September: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the motive behind seeking details by Indian Forest Service officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi on complaints of corruption against union government ministers is to create pressure. PMO Deputy Secretary Praveen Kumar has said so to the Supreme Court in an affidavit.
The affidavit said that what Sanjeev Chaturvedi could not achieve by direct means, he wants to achieve by filing this petition. Sanjeev Chaturvedi has sought information about the action taken on complaints of corruption against union ministers by applying under the Right to Information in 2017. He has also asked under the Right to Information that how much black money was brought after 2014.
The PMO refused to give these information, saying that these information cannot be given as they do not come under the definition of information. Gathering the details of action taken on complaints of corruption against union Ministers would result in wastage of resources. In response to the case of black money, the PMO said that the investigation is going on in this right now, so information cannot be given.
The court, on January 31, 2020, issued a notice to the Prime Minister’s Office and directed it to file a reply. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Sanjeev Chaturvedi, has filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to direct the Central Government to make public the information about these complaints and the action taken on them during 2014 to 2017.
