New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was justified in denying information pertaining to the printing of currency notes post demonetisation citing exemption clauses related to national and economic security in the RTI Act, Chief Information Commissioner R K Mathur has said.
RTI applicant RL Kain had on November 15, 2016 filed an appeal seeking information on the printing of currency notes and other matters after the government had announced its decision of demonetisation.
The PMO had denied him information citing Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act.
Mathur dimissed a complaint filed by Kain, saying the demonetisation process was on when the application and the first appeal was filed -- November 15, 2016 and December 24, 2016 respectively -- and it justified invoking Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act. The commission is of the view that in the interest of the then ongoing process of demonetisation and the then prevailing situation in the country, the CPIO was justified in the stand taken by him, he said.