Disclose probe proceedings in naval aviator’s death: CIC

The CIC on Tuesday directed the Navy to disclose the Board of Inquiry proceedings into the death of Lt Cdr Rahul Nair during an airshow in 2010,while admonishing its official for “cavalier attitude” in preparing its submission.

In stern observations, Information Commissioner Divya Prakash Sinha said it appears “that attempt has been made to protect the interest of defaulters and that certainly does not outweigh the interest of the soldier who has lost his life in such an accident”. Sinha questioned how the Navy, while objecting to the disclosure of inquiry proceedings, court resort to reproducing “verbatim” the previous submissions by other CPIOs and comments of Defence Ministry in separate cases.

Navy which was objecting to the disclosure of proceedings on the grounds of national security has used comments of Defence Ministry and Indian Air Force in separate cases without quoting, Sinha said. “...the phrase Air Force has been replaced by Indian Navy in all such instances. This demonstrates cavalier attitude of the CPIO in preparing the counter submissions. CPIO has even ignored the fact that, submissions in the aforementioned case were given in regard of the Indian Air Force and its entire fleet of transport since the year 1990...,” Sinha said.