The Supreme Court has granted permission for an appeal filed by Uttarakhand-based Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi. He seeks a hearing on the action taken by the PM’s office (PMO) in response to corruption complaints involving Union ministers and the amount of black money found from abroad.
The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varala issued the orders, stating, “Leave granted”.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the PMO during the hearing.
Chaturvedi’s petition also included details on the PMO’s response to a complaint he filed in September 2014 against JP Nadda, who later became the Union health and family welfare minister.
From June 2012 to August 2014, Chaturvedi served as the chief vigilance officer at AIIMS, Delhi. The appeal was filed in response to a Delhi HC division bench's dismissal of Chaturvedi’s petition on September 6, 2019.
The Central Information Commission, in its decision dated October 16, 2016, directed the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the PMO to furnish information to Chaturvedi within 15 days.
However, in its response on October 29, 2018, the PMO mentioned that it was unable to respond to Chaturvedi's RTI regarding corruption allegations against Union ministers, citing the significant resources that would be required for this extensive task.
Additionally, the PMO's response stated that an SIT had already been constituted and that the investigative process was in progress.
Chaturvedi once again went to the CIC. In its decision in June 2019, the CIC noted that the CPIO had "provided a specific reply" as per the previous orders of the CIC from October 16, 2018.
Upset by this ruling, Chaturvedi filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, but it was rejected by the single bench in July 2019 and then by the division bench in September 2019.
Subsequently, Chaturvedi approached the Supreme Court in December 2019, and notices were issued in January 2020.
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