Is information about airport security check waiver exempt under the RTI Act?
12 Nov, 2012A list of individuals who are exempt from pre-embarkation security frisking in airports was prepared by the Union government which includes the President, the Prime Minister (PM), the former Presidents and PMs, Supreme Court judges etc. The list also includes the names of the businessman Robert Vadra and Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama.
An application was filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 seeking copy of the file notings that led to the waiver of the pre-embarkation security checks at the airports in respect of these individuals with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The MHA has informed that the information sought is exempt under Section 24 (1) of the RTI Act. The BCAS denied the information on the ground that these were restricted documents relating to the security of the civil aviation and is exempt under Section 8 (1) (a) of the RTI Act.