Let Jaswant Singh inspect privy purse files, says CIC

The abolition was brought to effect through the 26th Constitutional Amendment in 1971.The Commission also directed the Ministry officials to complete his search for all the files related to the subject of abolition of privileges and privy purses of the erstwhile rulers of Indian states.

On June 12, the CIC had pulled up the MHA for its failure to trace records related to abolition of privy purses. “It is distressing to note that documents of so important a nature in the evolution of free India’s history — that will be vital for any documentation of the history of the late 20th century — are not traceable,” Habibullah had said.

Following a direction by the Commission, senior MHA officials had appeared before it on Thursday and submitted three files relating to the matter.

Singh, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, had sought Cabinet papers, notings, discussion notes, minutes and other records, which led to the abolition of privy purses, from the Ministry.

The CIC had placed such prime importance on finding the documents, which officials claimed were “untraceable”, that it had directed a search in “almirahs and storerooms of officers above the rank of JS who have been dealing with the subject in the Ministry of Home Affairs, so as to allay any suspicion that the documents may have been accessed in the Ministry at some earlier date but have been placed in the cupboard and forgotten about”.