The second set of declassified documents on Tuesday revealed that many files on Netaji kept with the Prime Minister’s Office were destroyed by the Congress regimes from 1950 to 1972. In 2000, the Government admitted before the Justice Mukherjee Commission that the files were  destroyed and provided the file numbers of the destroyed documents. However, there was no official order to destroy these files. The first set of declassified documents had revealed that the crucial Netaji files were kept first with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and after his death, were under the custody of Mohammed Yunus, the top-ranking bureaucrat and trusted aide of the Nehru family. Most of these files were believed to be investigations and opinions of investigators about the mystery surrounding Netaji’s death in a crash in 1945.

While detailing the list of destroyed files during the Nehru-Indira regime, the Vajpayee Government in 2000 informed the Commission that they could not locate any specific orders for destruction of such files.

The sets of declassified documents on Tuesday showed that more than nine files were destroyed fully or partially during 1950 to 1972.

“One File No: 12(226) 56-PM has been destroyed on March 6, 1972. Certain documents of File No 23(156)/51-PM have been destroyed while recording that file,” said the Government to the Commission in 2000, according to declassified papers.

“As regards…no orders for destroying that file could be located. In the file register however there is an entry regarding destruction of that file in 1972. There is also a note in Vol V File No. 2(64)56-70-PM about the destruction of this file,” said the Government, admitting of file destruction during Indira’s regime.

The Centre had admitted destruction of files after the repeated reminders and summons by the Commission. Cabinet Secretariat, Intelligence Bureau and R&AW also informed the Commission that they don’t have any files on Netaji after several reminders.

The declassified also shows that in 1969, the Cabinet meeting headed by Indira Gandhi decided not to appoint any Commission on Netaji mysteries. This Cabinet note was allowed to distribute during NDA regime in 1999.

The Centre on Tuesday declassified 50 files by uploading in the dedicated website of National Archives. The files were released by Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma. The second set of release of files were mainly pertaining to Netaji’s ashes and probes into his disappearance. Among the 50 files, each 10 files are from PMO and Home Ministry and rest of the files are from External Affairs Ministry.