the Central Information Commission has observed that The disclosure of files provided by India's second army chief General Sir Roy Bucher to Nehru Memorial Museum and Library about Jammu and Kashmir related to the period of 1947-49, which may throw light on Accession, is in "national interest"
However, Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar has instead asked the NMML's Central Public Information Officer "to take up the matter with higher officials" and "secure the necessary permission" before sharing the information with RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak.
Nayak said he had pressed for larger public interest in the disclosure of the information as October, 2021 will usher in the 75th anniversary year of signing of instrument of accession by Maharaja Hari Singh but Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar used the word "national interest" in his order.
Access to the papers handed over by General Sir Roy Bucher to NMML will be of immense value to counter the controversy that has been created with regard to the actual date of signing of the Instrument of Accession and its acceptance, Nayak said in his arguments before the Commission.
The said dates happen to be 26th and 27th of October, 1947 respectively, he said.
The activist also relied upon the institution of declassification policy of official records by the government for the purpose of compiling war and operations histories by the Ministry of Defence which was put in public domain on June 12, 2021.
The Backstory of Article 370: A True Copy of J&K’s Instrument of Accession by Venkatesh Nayak https://thewire.in/history/public-first-time-jammu-kashmirs-instrument-accession-india Sourced from the National Archives of India, The Wire presents a key document from India's modern history