'Details of property bought by Priyanka Gandhi should be made public'

NEW DELHI: The details of property bought by Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka must be revealed, Himachal Pradesh State Information Commission has ruled.

The full bench of state information commission has given a pro-disclosure order asking deputy commissioner (Simla) to provide information within 10 days. The commission has given a showcause notice to the PIO and sought an explanation why a penalty not be imposed on him for wrongfully denying information.

The order comes in response to an appeal by RTI activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya who had filed an application in 2014 seeking file notings, copies of sale deeds, relaxations being given regarding the land bought by Priyanka in Charabbra village in Simla. The RTI application was transferred from one department to another. The additional district magistrate who had in July 2014 asked tehsildar Simla (rural) to provide all necessary information, a month later said the information asked for would be treated as third party information, and issued notice to a local resident who then had the power of attorney on behalf of Priyanka.

Earlier, Priyanka, through her lawyers, had claimed that if the information emerged in public it would have a direct bearing on her security. The advocate said the applicant is not entitled to any information pertaining to the plot since it would be exempted under section 8, which deals with information regarding third party. Priyanka had also furnished a letter from SPG “advising the concerned authorities to withhold the information pertaining to the present objectioner, same having the direct bearing on her security and physical safety."

The State Information Commission has ruled on Monday that under the RTI, details including whether she bought two pieces of land -one in 2007 and another in 2012 - will be confirmed, along with how much she paid as registration fee within 10 days.