HC sets aside order directing details of foreign travel by Modi, Manmohan Singh be made public

The Delhi High Court on Monday set aside a Central Information Commission order directing the Indian Air Force to provide information about foreign visits taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh, Bar and Bench reported.

The case arose from a petition by former Navy officer and Right to Information activist Lokesh K Batra, who had sought detailed records of foreign visits taken by the prime ministers on Indian Air Force aircraft between April 2013 and June 2018.

The information sought included details of the aircraft, crew and entourage, including the names of security personnel travelling with the prime ministers.

The matter has been before the court since 2020, when the Delhi High Court stayed the Central Information Commission’s order directing disclosure of the information.

The Indian Air Force had at the time challenged the information commission order, arguing that the details sought by the petitioner were “extremely sensitive in nature” as they related to the matter of the prime minister’s security arrangements.

On Thursday, the petitioner argued that the information concerned expenditure from public funds and was therefore in the larger public interest, Bar and Bench reported.

However, the court said that the mere fact that public funds had been spent on foreign travel did not, by itself, “justify disclosure of information which may compromise the...

Read more