Tezzbuzz Desk- The Delhi High Court has canceled the Central Information Commission (CIC) order to make public the detailed records related to the foreign trips of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The court said that disclosure of such information could pose a threat to national security and the life of the Prime Minister.
The Delhi High Court, in its order dated October 15, quashed the Central Information Commission's direction to the Indian Air Force to provide certified copies of Special Flight Returns (SFR) Part-II records related to foreign visits of Prime Ministers under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Justice Amit Mahajan said that disclosure of information related to the aircraft, aircrew, entire delegation and members of the Special Protection Group (SPG) traveling with the Prime Minister could affect national security. According to the court, the assessments of competent security agencies cannot be ignored in matters related to the security of the Prime Minister. The court or the CIC cannot substitute their assessment for that of the security agencies.
This case is related to the RTI application filed by retired Commodore Lokesh Batra in June 2018. He had sought details of foreign visits of Prime Ministers by Indian Air Force aircraft between April 2013 and June 2018. The Air Force reported some trips, but declined to provide detailed records of SFR Part-I and Part-II, citing security concerns.
After this, the Central Information Commission had directed to remove the names of the security personnel and give certified copies of the related SFR-II records. The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the Air Force challenged this decision in the High Court.
Batra's lawyer argued that the information sought pertains to public expenditure on the Prime Minister's foreign visits and it should be made available in public interest. He said the purpose of the request was not to reveal the identity of the security personnel, but to obtain information related to private individuals traveling at government expense.
However, the High Court said that such information cannot be made public merely on the basis of expenditure of government money, which may affect the security arrangements made during the yatras. The Court concluded that the CIC had erred in directing the disclosure of SFR-II records. On this basis the order of the commission was cancelled.