PMO refuses sharing information on black money brought from abroad
What's the story
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has refused to share details on the quantum of black money brought back from abroad, citing a provision of the RTI Act that bars disclosure of information that may impede investigation and prosecution of offenders.
Its response came on an October 16 order passed by the Central Information Commission (CIC), asking the PMO to provide respective details within 15-days.
Response
Revelation of details may impede investigation, government replies to RTI
Replying to an RTI query, the PMO said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has already been formed and investigation is underway.
As such, disclosure of all the action/efforts undertaken by the government at this juncture may impede the investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders and hence would attract the provision of exemption under Section 8 (1) (h) of the RTI Act, it added.
Who filed?
Sanjiv Chaturvedi, Indian Forest Service officer, had filed the RTI
Such investigations come under the purview of different government intelligence and security organizations which have been excluded from the ambit of the RTI Act, the PMO said in its response to the RTI filed by whistleblower bureaucrat Sanjiv Chaturvedi.
Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer, had sought information on the quantum of black money brought from abroad since June 1, 2014.
Previous reply
PMO had earlier said query not covered under transparency law
In its initial reply to the RTI application, PMO had in October last year said the query was not covered under Section 2(f) of the transparency law that defines information.
Chaturvedi thereafter moved the Central Information Commission, which had last month ordered the PMO to provide information.
There is, at present, no official assessment on the quantum of black money in India and abroad.
Data
$770bn in black money entered India during 2005-2014: Report
According to a study by US-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI), an estimated $770 billion in black money entered India during 2005-2014. Nearly $165 billion in illicit money exited the country during the same period, the report by the global financial watchdog said.