Page 60 - ELT_15th June 2020_VOL 372_Part 6th

A214 EXCISE LAW TIMES [ Vol. 372

The applicant told Live Law that they would file an appeal against the
PMO’s refusal to provide the required information.
Last month, the Government maintained that the fund will not be audit-
ed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India since it was based on dona-
tions of individuals and organisations, according to a private news channel.
The PM CARES Fund was created on March 28 with the Prime Minister
as its Chairperson and Senior Cabinet Members serving as trustees. Opposition
parties have questioned the need to create the reserve when the Prime Minister’s
National Relief Fund is already in existence. They had also expressed doubts
about the fund’s transparency.
[Source : Millennium Post, New Delhi, dated 31-5-2020]

Disclose preliminary enquiries into corruption complaints
closed without FIRs : CIC

In a major decision to promote transparency in the CBI, the Central
Information Commission (CIC) has ordered disclosure of preliminary enquiries
into corruption complaints which have been closed by the probe agency without
registering any FIRs during 2014-18.
The Commission while delivering the order agreed with the views of an
RTI applicant that the Central Bureau of investigation (CBI), which is otherwise
exempted from the ambit of the RTI Act, does not have immunity from disclos-
ing records related to “allegations” of corruption and human rights violation
held by it.
The preliminary enquiries, being “records” held by the agency carrying
“allegations” of corruption, cannot be denied under the exemption from the
Right to Information (RTI) Act enjoyed by the agency and should be judged in
conformity to its provisions, the applicant said.
“...Commission directs the GPIO to provide the preliminary enquiry
number, summary of allegations, date of registration and date of closure of the
preliminary enquiries pertaining to allegations of corruption which have been
closed by the agency without registering regular cases between 2014-2018,” In-
formation Commissioner Divya Prakash Stnha said.
The case pertained to the RTI application filed by this correspondent on
May 2, 2018 seeking from the CBI the copies of all the PEs having allegations of
corruption which have been closed by the agency without registering an FIR
during 2014-18, along with details about date of registration, date of closure and
reasons behind the closure.
A Preliminary Enquiry (PE) is the first step initiated by the CBI to assess
criminality in prima facie allegations levelled by a complainant. If the allegations
appear to be serious enough, the agency proceeds with an FIR or else PE is
closed.
PE remains an internal document as no closure reports are filed in the
Court thereby not allowing any public scrutiny of reasons behind not initiating
full scale investigation with an FIR in a particular complaint or input.
[Source : Daily Excelsior Jammu, dated 8-6-2020]
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