Sharing information collected from public domain, if meant for official use, is breach of secrecy, rules AFT

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 25

The Armed Forces Tribunal has held that documents and associated material collected from the public domain for official use is privileged information and sharing the same with an unauthorised person is breach of security.

The documents were collected by a senior naval officer for the purpose of making an official presentation on the subject, ‘Pakistan Security Scenario 2020’, and this was prepared with information from the internet.

“Once the documents were collected for preparing an official presentation, parting with such a document and giving it to a civilian was clearly an act in breach of security and unbecoming of an officer in uniform, the Tribunal’s bench comprising  Justice Rajendra Menon and Lt Gen PM Hariz observed.

Upholding the naval authorities’ stand on the issue in its order, the bench was of the considered view that if the authorities found this act of the officer to be a breach of security or against the interest of the administration, no interference can be made into the matter by the Tribunal.

A naval officer of the rank of captain had been accused by a woman, who was known to him since their school days, of molesting her and leaking secret naval information to her. Based on the complaint, a one-man inquiry was convened by the Naval Headquarters.

After the Navy chose to proceed against the officer administratively instead of trying him by a court martial, he was served a showcause notice and his services were terminated with 50 per cent forfeiture of pension.

He then challenged the proceedings before the Tribunal, averring certain irregularities and illegalities in the inquiry proceedings and the contents of the showcause notice. He had also contended that sharing information which was already in the public domain did not constitute breach of secrecy.

The Tribunal, while upholding the convening and findings of the one-man inquiry and the subsequent termination of services, however, held that the act of withholding 50 per cent pension was unsustainable in law as the same did not find any mention in the showcause notice and hence the officer could not challenge it in his reply to the showcause notice.