MHA appeals against making Srikrishna report public

The home ministry has filed a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court to seek a stay on the court’s verdict last month, ordering the central government to make the controversial chapter 8 of the Sri Krishna report public. Aloke Tikku reports.

The home ministry has filed a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court to seek a stay on the court’s verdict last month, ordering the central government to make the controversial chapter 8 of the Sri Krishna report public.

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This chapter ostensibly dealt with the law and order and internal security dimensions of a decision on Telangana. Justice L. Narasimha Reddy of the AP High Court had directed the home ministry to make the chapter public, rejecting the government’s claim for privilege as untenable and withholding the chapter as unreasonable and unconstitutional.

“We have filed a review petition... It is expected to come up for hearing early next week, probably on Monday,” a central government official said. The official indicated that the home ministry would make chapter public if the high court did not grant a stay on the single judge’s order.

Justice Reddy had expressed dismay at the tone and tenor of the contents of this chapter, that appeared to be an endeavour to persuade the central government not to accede to the demand of Telangana.

“If the source of inputs that gave rise to this is the Government, it (the Government) owes an explanation to the citizens. If on the other hand, the origin of the inputs is elsewhere, the Government must move in the right earnest to pluck and eradicate such foul source and thereby prove its respect for, and confidence in, the democracy,” the March 24 judgment observed.

The judge had given two weeks' time to the government to implement its directive.