NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister's Office has told the Central Information Commission that it cannot declassify files related to Subhash Chandra Bose as it will adversely affect relations with foreign countries. The CIC has reserved its order in the matter.

During the hearing before the CIC on Wednesday, the PMO admitted that it has files related to Bose but did not give any specifics and submitted that they could not be declassified keeping in mind relations with foreign countries.

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It cited Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act which allows the government to withhold information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the state, relations with foreign states or lead to incitement of an offence.

RTI activist Subhash Agrawal, who had sought declassification of documents pertaining to Bose, made a strong plea before the commission citing Section 8(2) of the RTI Act which allows exempted records to be disclosed if public interest outweighs the harm to protected interests. Agrawal said foreign relations could not be affected as Bose allegedly went missing 70 years ago.

Chief information commissioner Vijai Sharma has reserved his order in the matter.

Times View

Seven decades after Netaji disappeared and was suspected to have died in a plane crash, it is quite ridiculous for the government to continue to maintain that the facts in its possession cannot be revealed to the public because they could jeopardize friendly relations with foreign countries. Even if the revelations show that the erstwhile government of some foreign country had a dubious role to play in Netaji's disappearance or perhaps even his death, the current government of that country is hardly likely to feel outraged about such revelations. Indeed, even if such a reaction were likely, that would not be a good enough reason for concealing the facts from the Indian public.