Delhi High Court blocks RTI disclosure on PM's foreign visits

The Delhi High Court overturned a CIC order seeking disclosure of the prime minister's IAF travel records. The court held that national security and personal safety outweighed the stated public interest.

In Short

• CIC had ordered certified SFR-II copies after redacting security personnel details
• Records cover aircraft, aircrew, passengers, entourage and associated travel arrangements
• Applicant sought details spanning Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi's tenures

The Delhi High Court has set aside a Central Information Commission order directing the disclosure of information under the Right to Information Act about the prime minister's foreign visits on Indian Air Force aircraft, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

The court said releasing the information could have implications for national security and the life and physical safety of the prime minister. It also found that the RTI applicant had not demonstrated sufficient larger public interest to justify the disclosure.

“The mere fact that public funds have been expended on the foreign visits of the prime minister does not, by itself, justify disclosure of information which may compromise the security arrangements put in place for such visits,” Justice Amit Mahajan said in an order passed on October 15.

“In the absence of any demonstrated larger public interest that outweighs these concerns, disclosure of the information sought cannot be directed,” the order said.

The court said the CIC had erred in directing the disclosure of Special Foreign Returns-II records relating to the prime minister's foreign visits after removing the names and identifying details of security personnel.

According to PTI, the court said the Directorate of Personal Services at Air Headquarters was justified in invoking exemptions under Sections 8(1)(a) and 8(1)(g) of the RTI Act because of the potential implications for national security and the prime minister's safety. It allowed the Air Force's petition challenging the CIC order.

Special Foreign Returns contain sensitive information about the prime minister's foreign visits, including details of the aircraft, aircrew, passengers and accompanying entourage.

The court was hearing a plea filed by the Central Public Information Officer of the Directorate of Personal Services at Air Headquarters, Indian Air Force. The plea challenged a July 2020 CIC order directing the authority to provide certified copies of available and relevant SFR-II records.

The records had been sought by retired Commodore Lokesh K Batra, who filed an RTI application seeking information about foreign visits undertaken by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on IAF aircraft between April 1, 2013, and June 5, 2018.

The Air Force told the applicant that Manmohan Singh had undertaken no air travel on IAF aircraft between April 1, 2013, and May 25, 2014. It also said Modi had undertaken only three visits on IAF aircraft between June 4, 2016, and July 9, 2018.

The Air Force, however, refused to provide the SFR records, citing exemptions under Sections 8(1)(a) and 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act. The CIC later directed the IAF to provide the information, prompting the authorities to approach the High Court.

Before the High Court, the Air Force said the records contained sensitive details, including information about passengers, aircraft, aircrew, flights, the number of passengers, agencies involved and the prime minister's security personnel.

It argued that even if the names of security personnel were removed, the remaining details could be linked with publicly available information to reconstruct aspects of the prime minister's security arrangements and identify patterns in security deployment.

The applicant argued that the information concerned expenditure on the prime minister's foreign visits from public funds and was, therefore, a matter of significant public interest. He said he wanted details of private individuals accompanying the prime minister at public expense, not the identities of security personnel.

The High Court observed that the right to information was not absolute and had to be balanced against other public interests, including the confidentiality of sensitive information.

“Such an assessment falls primarily within the domain of the agencies entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the security of the prime minister,” the court said, according to PTI. It added that neither the court nor the CIC could sit in appeal over the assessment of competent security agencies on whether disclosure could jeopardise national security or endanger the prime minister.

The court consequently overturned the CIC's disclosure direction, holding that security concerns outweighed the public-interest argument presented in the RTI application.

- Ends