Radia tapes disclosure in public interest: Outlook

Outlook magazine on Wednesday sought the dismissal of Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata's petition on its publication of leaked phone-tap conversations between Tata and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia in the Supreme Court at the admission stage itself. 

Tata had moved the apex court seeking a ban on the publication of the content of the tapes.

In a counter-affidavit, the magazine said that the question of privacy does not arise as far as tapes are concerned. In the recorded conversation, there are numerous conversations that are indisputably matters of public interest and public concern.

They deal with matters of good governance, corruption in the top echelons of government, and secret and baleful influences on the centres of power. Therefore, the content of tapes should be made available in the public domain for a meaningful debate, it said.

''The matter is eminently newsworthy as it exposes the nexus between politicians, the media and industrialists in influencing decisions in the appointment of ministers and portfolio allocation,'' it added.

''The citizen's right to know is a part of Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution and it becomes meaningful only when such things are disclosed to the public,'' Outlook pointed out.

By seeking a ban on the publication of tapes, Tata was only seeking to shield unethical and undesirable practices that affect the body politic, the counter-affidavit stated.