PM Foreign Travel Records: Delhi HC Sets Aside CIC Order on IAF
Image: Bar & Bench
The Delhi High Court has set aside a Central Information Commission (CIC) order that asked the Indian Air Force to hand over records of foreign trips made on IAF aircraft by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Justice Amit Mahajan, in an order dated October 15 and reported on October 19, held that disclosing the Special Flight Returns could harm national security and the Prime Minister’s safety. The IAF’s public information officer had challenged the CIC direction, which came on an RTI application filed in 2018.
RTI Route for Flight Records Narrows
The ruling makes it harder to use the Right to Information Act to obtain passenger and crew details of the Prime Minister’s special flights. The court said the fact that public money is spent on such visits does not, by itself, justify disclosure. It also said neither the High Court nor the CIC can review the subjective judgment of security agencies on what endangers the Prime Minister.
The 2018 Application and the CIC Direction
Retired Commodore Lokesh K Batra filed the RTI application in June 2018, seeking details of Prime Ministers’ foreign visits on IAF aircraft from April 2013 to June 2018. The IAF disclosed some information but withheld Special Flight Returns Parts I and II, which list the aircraft, aircrew and everyone travelling with the Prime Minister, including Special Protection Group personnel. The IAF cited security concerns and a fiduciary-capacity exemption.
The CIC then directed the IAF to give certified copies of the Part II records, with the names of security personnel removed. In December 2020 a single judge of the Delhi High Court had stayed that direction on an interim basis. Batra’s counsel argued that the request was about private individuals who travelled with the Prime Minister, not about security staff.
Final Order Leaves Little Room for Appeal on Facts
The CIC “erred” in ordering disclosure of the Part II records, the court held, and it “cannot sit in appeal” over the satisfaction of competent security agencies. The order is the final ruling on the IAF’s petition. The report does not say whether Batra will challenge it before a Division Bench.
Source: Delhi High Court order, CPIO v Commodore Lokesh Batra. Also based on reporting by Bar & Bench and LiveLaw. More in Daily Updates.
Image: Bar & Bench.
