Bangalore, Mar 1 (IANS): The department of space has declined to provide documents on the basis of which the government debarred former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair and three other retired space scientists from holding official posts, Nair said.

"Taking shelter under a clause of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the department withheld vital information on the reports of the two committees that probed the $300-million Antrix-Devas deal and resulted in action against me and three other colleagues," Nair told IANS.

A week after the government Jan 13 blacklisted the four noted scientists, Nair filed an application under the RTI Act, seeking details of the high level team that recommended action against him and three other technocrats.

"Though it is mandatory to furnish the documents I have asked for within 30 days of my application, I received a reply from the department's RTI officer Tuesday repeating all that is already in the public domain but not the specific information, including documents and notings pertaining to the recommendation for action against us," Nair asserted.

The three other retired scientists are former scientific secretary A. Bhaskarnarayana, ISRO's former satellite centre director K.N. Shankara and former Antrix Corporation executive director K.R. Sridharamurthi.