The Delhi High Court has set aside a Central Information Commission (CIC) order directing the Indian Air Force (IAF) to disclose records relating to the foreign visits of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Manmohan Singh aboard IAF aircraft, holding that disclosure could compromise national security and the safety of the Prime Minister.
Justice Amit Mahajan passed the ruling on October 15, 2026, allowing a petition filed by the Central Public Information Officer, Directorate of Personal Services, Air Headquarters, challenging the CIC’s order dated July 8, 2020.
The information had been sought under the Right to Information Act, 2005. He had requested details of foreign visits undertaken by the Prime Ministers aboard IAF aircraft from April 1, 2013, onwards, including copies of the relevant Special Flight Returns (SFR) Part I and Part II.
The CIC had directed the IAF to provide certified copies of the available and relevant SFR-II records. Challenging this direction, the IAF argued that the records contained sensitive information concerning aircraft, aircrew, passengers, the Prime Minister’s entourage and Special Protection Group personnel. It contended that even after redaction of security personnel’s identities, the remaining details could be correlated with publicly available information to reconstruct security arrangements.
The Court observed that the right to information is not absolute and must be balanced against other protected interests, including national security and personal safety. It held that the IAF was justified in invoking Sections 8(1)(a) and 8(1)(g) of the RTI Act, which exempt information whose disclosure could prejudicially affect national security or endanger a person’s life or physical safety.
Rejecting the argument that expenditure from public funds justified disclosure, the Court observed that the use of public funds for the Prime Minister’s foreign visits did not, by itself, establish sufficient public interest to warrant disclosure of information that could compromise security arrangements.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the CIC’s order directing disclosure of the records.
