No RTI on Shivshankar Menon

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister’s Office has refused to reveal any information on the appointment of foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon on a Right to Information application filed by senior IFS officer Veena Sikri.

However, the Central Information Commission observed that such file notings on the appointment of foreign secretary should be revealed to anyone who seeks the information. “The entire issue is in public domain,” said Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah at the hearing on Tuesday.

The PMO refusing to provide access to file notings told the Central Information Commission that divulging the information would lead to “unwarranted invasion into the privacy of individual IFS officers screened for the post of Foreign Secretary}.’ The Cabinet secretariat in turn took the position that Cabinet papers did not fall under the purview of the Right To Information Act.

Ms Sikri, a 1971 batch officer, had filed an RTI application seeking details of the appointment of Shivshankar Menon as foreign secretary. Ms Sikri, who is one batch junior to Mr Menon, has asked for details on the rules followed by the government in selecting the foreign secretary. Veena Sikri was serving as Bangladesh High Commissioner at that time.