Delhi High Court blocks RTI disclosure of foreign travel details for PM and former PM

The Delhi High Court has cancelled a Central Information Commission order that told the Indian Air Force to share detailed records about foreign trips made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Justice Amit Mahajan stated that sharing records like Special Flight Returns Part I and Part II could harm national security and put the Prime Minister's life in danger. The applicant, retired Commodore Lokesh Batra, had filed an RTI request in June 2018 to get details about foreign visits on Indian Air Force planes between April 2013 and June 2018. While the Air Force gave some details, it refused to share the specific flight return documents, pointing to security risks and fiduciary duty. The Central Information Commission had earlier ordered the Air Force to share redacted records after hiding the names of security staff. The High Court ruled that courts and information panels cannot question the security judgment of expert agencies tasked with protecting the Prime Minister. The Court also noted that spending public money on foreign travel does not automatically mean that security-sensitive documents must be made public.

Context

The Right to Information Act allows citizens to ask for government records to ensure transparency, but the law includes exemptions to protect national security and personal safety. Courts often balance the public's right to know against the security needs of high-ranking public officials. Specialized security agencies routinely make these risk assessments based on threat perceptions.