Rejecting former Army Chief General V K Singhs plea under the Right to Information Act for a copy of an Army report on the activities of the controversial Technical Support Division (TSD) set up during his tenure,the Defence Ministry has cited a section of the RTI Act,which bars the disclosure of information that can hurt the sovereignty and integrity of India,according to a PTI report. In so far as your request for supply of a copy of the report of Board of Officers headed by Director General Military Operation Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia is concerned,it is regretted that it cannot be supplied, a Ministry communication in response to his RTI query said. Section 8 (1) (a) of the Act,cited by the Ministry,bars disclosure of information that would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India,the security,strategic,scientific or economic interests of the state,relation with foreign state or lead to incitement of an offence. The TSD,a Military Intelligence unit,was set up by General V K Singh in May 2010. The unit was disbanded soon after Gen Bikram Singh took over as Army Chief in May last year. A Board of Officers inquiry report into the functioning of the TSD had recommended a CBI probe into unauthorised covert operations being conducted by the unit,first reported by The Indian Express in September this year. The report was submitted to the government in March this year. General Singh had requested for a copy of the report under RTI,besides asking to be allowed to inspect the relevant files related to the case at the Defence Ministry.
