CALCUTTA, NOV 24: Though 55 years have rolled by since Subhas Chandra Bose “disappeared†from the actual political scene, opening a Government file about Netaji might still be considered “a threatâ€.Interesting -ly, the Commission which held a hearing yesterday disclosed that the Union Home Ministry, ‘‘by an affidavit’’, claimed ‘‘privilege under the Sections 123 and 124 of the Evidence Act and Article 74(2) of the Constitution of India on the files’’. ‘‘The files on the urn allegedly containing Netaji’s ashes in Renkoji Temple and the Union Government’s decision to award Bose the Bharat Ratna, could not be given to the Commission on grounds that making them public would be a threat to the nation’s security,†Justice Manoj K. Mukherjee told reporters. Though Justice Mukherjee declined to comment if the Centre is consistently delaying the inquiry process, he said that during the next hearing ‘‘we will take up the issue if the Union Home Ministry can claim privilege on these files’’. ‘‘I don’t say they are not doing anything, but whatever they are doing is not adequate,’’ Justice Mukherjee told reporters after the hearing. When asked if this indicated an uncertain future for the Commission, Justice Mukherjee shot back saying: ‘‘It’s not for me to pass comments.’’ Incidentally, earlier Justice Mukherjee informed the audience that the Special Branch of the Calcutta Police sent ‘‘incorrect information regarding the files it was asked to submitâ€. The cases of non-compliance and non-cooperation of the BJP-led NDA Government with the Justice Mukherjee Commission, probing into the alleged disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, seems to be growing long.A few who came to appear before the Commission urged Justice Mukherjee to shift the venue for hearing to Delhi. ‘‘Then I think the Government would not be able to ignore us,’’ said All India Forward Bloc general secretary D Biswas. A status report circulated among the audience said that the Prime Minister’s Office sought ‘‘15 more days†time to file a consolidated affidavit covering all the points mentioned in the proceedings of the Commission.’’ The status report also noted that ‘‘no affidavit has been filed on behalf of the Cabinet Secretariat, the National Archives of India, and Research and Analysis Wing.’’ And the list seems to grow with each hearing. Even the Union Home Ministry didn’t send anyone to identify some documents it sent to the Commission set up on May 14, 1999. However, among other documents, the National Archives of India informed the Commission in a ‘‘letter dated 24.10.2000.that they had received 46 xerox pages on Subhas Chandra Bose from the department of Culture, Government of India, though the Embassy of India in Moscow on 15 May 1991â€. The hearing, which was expected to have explosive revelations by Professor Purobi Roy of Jadavpur University as she was expected to throw fresh light on ‘‘the Russian connection on the disappearance of Netaji,’’ ended on a dull note.Professor Roy was asked to submit a list of her documents and with their respective translations before she disposed before the Commission.
