By TwoCircles.net special correspondent
New Delhi: Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed Ministry of External Affairs to make public all letters that it has issued or received concerning Bhopal gas leak of December 1984. The decision came on an appeal filed by the RTI activist Afroz Alam “Sahil” who was denied his request for information by the Foreign Ministry since the matter of extradition of Warren Anderson is sub judice.
“A matter sub judice is not ground enough for denying information about the matter, as has been well settled law held in various previous decisions,” wrote Information Commissioner Mrs. Annapurna Dixit asking the ministry to reveal information sought by Afroz Alam by June 10th.
The information sought includes all correspondence between the ministry and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from April 1984 to July 1995; photocopies of all letters written by the ministry to any department; letters received by the ministry from the Central Government and the Madhya Pradesh Government concerning Bhopal gas leak; and details of all expenditure incurred by the ministry.
Mr. Alam had filed his RTI application on June 10th, 2010 which was replied on August 13th, 2010 stating that information was not readily available regarding letters exchanged with CBI. For other matters the ministry said it is consulting with the Law Ministry. Perturbed, Mr. Alam filed another RTI on August 25th to which the information officer of the ministry replied on September 9th, 2010 referring to the previous RTI application. Therefore, on November 13, 2010, Afroz Alam filed an appeal which was heard and ruled on May 5th, 2011.
During the hearing the Information Officer of the Ministry of External Affairs stated that the information sought is related to the extradition matter of the former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson and since this is under consideration by the Government of India and is sub judice and therefore cannot be revealed. The ministry also denied incurring any expenses related to Bhopal disaster.
Rejecting MEA’s claims, Commissioner in her ruling stated that it is evident that “the information sought relates to one of the world’s worst industrial catastrophes resulting in death, disability and maiming of thousands of people all over Bhopal. The information therefore, is of significance to the general public, especially the families of the victims who have been awaiting justice since over last two decades.”
Leak of methyl isocynate from Union Carbide’s Bhopal plant on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984 killed thousands and the disaster continues for residents of the area affected by the leak. Victims continue to struggle for justice and compensation.