Punjab HC dismisses plea to know Sonia’s religion

“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 division Bench ruled.

This is being considered a landmark judgment on the right to privacy of Indian citizens and whether private information such as religion and belief of an individual can be provided to anybody under the Right to Information Act (RTI).

Wadhwa,a former director-general of police-rank officer,had asked if he was entitled under the RTI Act to obtain details of the religion followed by Sonia Gandhi,her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and son Rahul Gandhi,who is general secretary of the All India Congress Committee.

Wadhwa had sought information from the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the office of Registrar General,Census Operations,under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs about the religion mentioned by Sonia Gandhi and her children during the last census.

His application was rejected by the CPIO as well as the appellate authority. Thereafter,he filed a second appeal before the Central Information Commission (CIC),where his contention was that Sonia Gandhi,the late Rajiv 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 couple and their children.

When the CIC rejected his contentions,he sought the review of the order on the ground that the Gandhi couple’s “publicly displayed faith was divergent from the reality of their faith”. He also asserted that the country was entitled to know what the truth was.

However,in March 2008,the CIC rejected the prayer for a review of the earlier order,pointing out that the CIC has said it time and again that matters private to an individual couldn’t be forced out into the public under the RTI Act. “The sanctity of the private domain must be kept inviolate at all times,” the CIC order said.