'RTI info on Padma awards not for media'

New Delhi, Apr 8: The Home Ministry has said that information of about those denied Padma Awards should not be shared with the media.

The Home Ministry response came on an RTI application by Subhash Chandra Agrawal.

The Ministry provided details to him with a caution that this information was only meant for the applicant and not for publicity in press.

Commenting on the issue, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said, "The Right to Information Act does not have any provision which gives a public authority powers to ask any applicant not to use information provided to him."

"Under the act it is not possible that a department can make such a request... Once the information is given under the law, it is public," Habibullah said.

Eminent Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan also said the reply given by the Home Ministry did not conform to the provisions of the RTI Act.

He said public authorities cannot make any such direction which is not in accordance with the transparency law.

OneIndia News