NEW DELHI, Invoking a human rights exception, the Central Information Commission has ordered the Army and the Border Roads Agency to share the main findings of a court of inquiry into the death of an army officer while hearing an appeal filed by his father.
CIC orders disclosure of army probe into officer’s death after father alleges corruptionAllowing an appeal filed by Santosh Kumar Mishra, father of late Captain Abhishek Mishra, the commission said that the information sought cannot be denied citing exemptions available to the Border Roads Authority under the Second Schedule of the Right to Information Act.
“The information sought is about the death of an employee while on duty, which directly attracts human rights exceptions,” the order said.
Captain Mishra died in a road accident while posted at BRO, after which a court of inquiry was convened. His father sought the results of the investigation, witness statements and related documents, saying the circumstances of the accident “indicate corruption in the matter”.
The requests were rejected by Central Public Information Officers, who treated the information as third-party material and cited the agency’s exemption under the RTI Act.
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Taking exception to this approach, the Central Information Commission held that the appellant was not a third party, but the father of the deceased officer. “The Commission takes strong exception to the CPIO’s consideration of this as third party information,” the order said.
The CIC also referred to the appellant’s personal loss. “The Commission sympathizes with the appellant, who lost his young son who was an Army officer and notes the efforts he made to seek justice for his deceased son,” it said.
Citing earlier judgments, including cases involving the CRPF and the Indian Air Force, the commission said it has “consistently held that relatives are entitled to records of investigations into the deaths of deceased officers” even where public authorities are otherwise exempted under the RTI Act.
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Noting that the appellant had “caught the culprit and alleged corruption in connection with the death of his son”, the Commission directed the Joint Director and the CPIO to provide the findings of the Court of Inquiry and disclose the relevant portions relating to any aspect of the cause of death in terms of service.
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