Delhi High Court Upholds CIC’s Order, Rejects Petition Filed by DLF’s Subsidiary

Upholding the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) order, the Delhi High Court has dismissed a writ petition by DLF’s subsidiary Edward Keventors Successors. The company had challenged CIC in which the commission had directed the company to disclose the details of a land in South block in Delhi that allegedly raises security threats to the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

“In view of the aforesaid, the contention that the petitioner had not been granted an opportunity of hearing cannot be sustained. An opportunity of making oral submissions was granted to the petitioner in view of the unequivocal language of the notice issued on February 28, 2013, however the petitioner rested content by sending a response dated March 10, 2013. Thus, the provision of Section 19(4) of the RTI Act was duly complied with,” the court said in its order.

The court further added, “I am also unable to accept the contention that the petitioner was prejudiced in any manner on account of non disclosure of the application preferred by respondent no.3. The petitioner was informed of that respondent number three had sought information relating to the property ‐Block‐ 48, Diplomatic Enclave, Sardar Patel Marg, New Delhi...Thus, the petitioner was aware of the information that was sought. It is clarified that no information relating to the petitioner other than that relating to the property in question is to be disclosed.”

The court observed that since the commission had followed the law, hence, it was not necessary to review the ‘merits of the decision’ taken by CIC. The commission had given its final order on December 3, 2013 following a RTI application filed by activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal which had sought information on the said land.

It should be noted that objections were raised against DLF’s subsidiary’s plans of constructing high-rise luxury apartments on that land as any private building close to the President’s house posed serious threats to the country’s sovereignty.

“It is noteworthy that Subramanian Swamy in his letters addressed to President of India alleged involvement of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra in the dubious land-deal highlighted in the RTI queries, said to have been the biggest ever land-scam in the country,” said Agarwal.

“With petition of DLF subsidiary (Edward Keventors Successors) now dismissed, Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) and any other concerned government-agency should review decision of allowing land-use change in earlier UPA-regime in the controversial matter where even intelligence-authorities and President Secretariat are learnt to have raised objections from security-aspect with land-project being in close vicinity of Rashtrapati Bhawan,” he added.

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