Writ on Bhagwat’s dismissal rejected

Solicitor General of India, Soli Sorabjee, argued that Bhagwat had himself not challenged his dismissal. Besides, the petitioner was not questioning the dismissal of former navy chief or alleging that it was malafide. All that he was asking for was the material on the basis of which Bhagwat was sacked.

Citing the Supreme Court judgement in the case of S P Gupta vs Union of India, he argued that the petitioner was not an affected party and hence he had no right to seek information on the government’s decision to sack the former navy chief.

The petitioner’s counsel, Iswari Prasad Bagadia, contendedthat being a citizen, his client had a right to know the reasons for Bhagwat’s dismissal. The right to information was enshrined in the Constitution, he said adding that in matters involving national security, citizens should not be passive spectators.

He also urged the court to exercise its power of judicial review by calling for the records of the case and going into the legality and propriety of the decision taken to dismiss Admiral Bhagwat.

The petition submitted that the government was trying to hide behind a veil of secrecy making “national security” as an excuse. “People need to judge whether the government action was based on rational assessment for which transparency was absolutely necessary”, the petitioner urged.

After the petition was rejected, Hoon told reporters that he would challenge the decision in the Supreme Court because he felt that citizens had a right to information in matters involving national security.