HC rejects plea on Sonia Gandhi and her children?s religion

Chandigarh : An appeal by a former Haryana top cop seeking details of the ?religion and faith? of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her two children was on Monday dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

A division bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Ranjan Gogoi, rejecting the plea, said the petitioner was trying to encroach the privacy of Gandhi and her family.

?It is evident that the petitioner is making efforts to make unjustified inroads into the privacy of the individuals even if they are public figure and consequently the information cannot be made public,? the Court ruled.

It upheld the decision of the Central Information Commission (CIC), which had previously rejected to part with the information.

The information sought is strictly confidential, the Court added.

The petitioner, former Haryana director general of police-rank officer PC Wadhwa, had initially approached the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the office of Registrar General, Census Operation, under the Union Home ministry, for the details regarding religion and faith of Gandhi, her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

His application was rejected by the CPIO and then he had moved the CIC, which had also rejected his appeal.

Wadhwa had contented that Sonia Gandhi and other members of the family were public figures who had projected certain public image regarding their religious belief and faith.

He also referred to media reports that said contradictory things about the religion of the family.

He also asserted that the country was entitled to know what the truth was.