Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to three RTI activists accused of circulating fake and misleading information about security cover provided to BJD leader and Nabin Odisha chairman V K Pandian.
“This court acknowledges the weight of allegations against the petitioners, which prima facie establishes the accusations of forgery and misrepresentation of information obtained through the RTI Act. In the above premises, grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioner would not serve the interests of justice, as there exits substantial material suggesting their involvement in grave misconduct under the alleged offences,” single judge bench of Justice Chittaranjan Dash observed on April 30.
He added that the actions alleged act not only violate the sanctity of the RTI Act but also erode public trust and reliance on the work conducted by RTI activists for promoting transparency, accountability and citizen participation in governance.
Prakash Das, Srikant Pakal and Pradip Pradhan of Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan (OSAA), a forum for state’s RTI activists, had moved the court after cases were registered against them at Saheed Nagar police on April 4 under IPC sections, including those of cheating and forgery, as well as the Information Technology Act.
At a press conference on March 29, the trio had claimed unprecedented allocation of security personnel to protect Pandian, citing a undated letter received through RTI from the Commissionerate Police. They said that his squad of 74 personnel outstripped even Z+ cover of 55 guards.
Following which, BJP moved poll authorities, seeking withdrawal of “unnecessary security benefits” given to Pandian.
The state police had, however, dismissed the claim stating that no such reply was supplied to any RTI applicant.
