Strategic Forces Command out of RTI ambit

SFC has been included in the list of 26 intelligence and security agencies, which are exempted from providing information under this law

The crucial Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which looks after the nuclear arsenal of the country, has been kept out of the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The SFC has been included in the list of 26 intelligence and security agencies, which are exempted from providing information under the transparency law, said a senior official in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which acts as a nodal authority for implementation of the RTI law.

The responsibility of the Strategic Forces Command is to operationalise the directives of the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA), which is under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's control.

The Command has the sole responsibility of initiating the process of delivering nuclear weapons and warheads after acquiring explicit approval from the NCA.

The DoPT has issued a notification in this regard without citing any reason for exempting the SFC. The first Commander-in- Chief of the Command was appointed in 2002.

The organisations like the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, National Investigation Agency, Special Protection Group and Financial Intelligence Unit, among others, are exempted from providing information under the RTI Act.

However, the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall be provided by these 26 organisations, the Act says.