New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has set aside a Central Information Commission (CIC) order directing the Indian Air Force (IAF) to disclose detailed flight records relating to foreign visits undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The court held that releasing the sensitive information could compromise national security and the Prime Minister’s personal safety.
Justice Amit Mahajan, in an order dated October 15, accepted the Air Force’s position that the records were exempt from disclosure under Sections 8(1)(a) and 8(1)(g) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The case arose from an RTI application filed on June 5, 2018, by retired Navy officer Commodore Lokesh K. Batra. He sought details of foreign visits made by Indian prime ministers on IAF aircraft from April 1, 2013, until the date of his application. The request included copies of Special Flight Returns, which contain information about aircraft, crew members, passengers and security personnel accompanying the Prime Minister.
The Air Force declined to disclose the detailed records, citing security concerns. The matter subsequently reached the CIC, which on July 8, 2020, directed the IAF to provide available records after removing the names and identifying details of security personnel. The Air Force challenged that direction before the High Court.
The court observed that redacting the names and identities of security personnel would not necessarily eliminate the risks associated with disclosure. Other details, when considered alongside information already available in the public domain, could potentially reveal aspects of the security arrangements for the Prime Minister’s foreign visits.
Rejecting the argument that expenditure from public funds alone justified disclosure, the court said such spending did not automatically warrant the release of information that could compromise security arrangements.
The High Court concluded that the CIC had erred in directing disclosure of the records. It accordingly allowed the Air Force’s petition and set aside the commission’s order.
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