The security cover to Bitta was withdrawn in September 1993, days after an attack on his life by terrorists outside his house in New Delhi when he was president of the All India Youth Congress. Bitta wanted to know the reasons of withdrawal of security and had filed an application under the RTI Act.

Habibullah’s order (dated February 15, 2008) directs a joint secretary-level officer to arrange the inspection of the file within 20 working days. The decision of the CIC, however, specifically states that the Commission was “intentionally not directing the issue of any copy of the document” as it cannot be placed in public domain without serious deliberation at the highest level on possible security implications.

Addressing newspersons today, Bitta said, “Once I have the information, I will file a case against all the officials responsible for withdrawal of my security.”

Bitta’s counsel M.D. Goswami had challenged the rejection, invoking provisions of Section 24 (I) of the RTI Act, where information can be sought on corruption and human rights violations, which, Goswami said, were relevant in the information sought by Bitta.

Bitta had asked whether the decision on his security cover was unanimous or under some kind of political pressure. He also sought to know if any responsibility was fixed after an attempt was made on his life. Bitta said, “The High Court petition will include other similar instances where security review committees passed such orders.”