Travel information personal, cannot be disclosed to third party under RTI: Delhi HC
New Delhi, Apr 12: Information related to travel is personal in nature and such details cannot be divulged to a third party under the Right to Information (RTI) Act unless it is in the larger public interest, the Delhi High Court has said.
The court has refused to interfere with an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that dismissed a plea moved by Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui, a death row convict in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case.
Siddiqui had sought information under the RTI Act regarding the travel entries (departure and arrival) of Mohammad Alam Gulam Sabir Quraishi from the Mumbai airport to Hong Kong or China between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2006 made with the Foreigners' Regional Registration Office (FRRO) or Immigration Office.
He had challenged the CIC's January 2022 order that denied the information to him.
"The travel information of any person is personal information and such details cannot be divulged to a third party unless the same is in the larger public interest, which justifies the disclosure of the said information. This court is of the opinion that the view taken by the CIC is not so perverse which warrants interference under Article 227 of the Constitution of India," Justice Subramonium Prasad said.
The petitioner had filed an RTI application with the central public information officer (CPIO) of the Bureau of Immigration, which dismissed the plea on the ground that the department was exempted from providing any information under section 24(1) and the Second Schedule of the RTI Act.
Thereafter, he appealed before the CIC, which also rejected it on the ground that Siddiqui was seeking third-party information that was exempted under section 8(1)(j) of the Act.
The petitioner's lawyer had submitted that the information was relevant for Siddiqui in pursuing his pending appeal before the Bombay High Court.
He had said the person whose travel details were sought was a witness and claimed that the petitioner was arrested after he was falsely implicated in the case and denying the information to him was a violation of human rights.
The high court dismissed the petition and said it was always open for the petitioner to approach the court concerned under section 391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to seek this information if it does not form a part of the record of the criminal court.
The petitioner, presently lodged in a prison, had claimed in his plea that he was falsely implicated in the Mumbai train blasts case by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Mumbai.
Earlier, the court had dismissed another petition filed by the petitioner challenging a CIC order denying the disclosure of certain information pertaining to the sanction granted for his prosecution for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the Maharashtra government.
It had also rejected his plea seeking the reports submitted by the Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh governments regarding the investigation into the train bombings.
Two petitions of the petitioner seeking certain information in relation to the officers involved in the investigation and the granting of sanction for his prosecution were dismissed by the high court.
It had dismissed his petition seeking the disclosure of certain information pertaining to the ban imposed on the Indian Mujahideen.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Dense fog disrupts operations at Delhi airport; 228 flights cancelled, 5 diverted
New Delhi (PTI): Dense fog disrupted flight operations at Delhi Airport on Monday, with various airlines cancelling 228 flights and diverting five to nearby airports due to low visibility, an official said.
However, except for Air India, which had in an X post in the morning announced the cancellation of some 40 flights, no other airlines, including crisis-hit IndiGo, shared the numbers of their cancelled or delayed flights.
"As many as 228 flights -- 131 departures and 97 arrivals-- have been cancelled due to low visibility, so far," the airport official said.
In addition to this, five flights have been diverted so far, he said.
Earlier, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), in a statement, said, "Our on-ground officials are working closely with all stakeholders to assist passengers and provide necessary support across Terminals.
"Low visibility (below minima), due to dense fog, has severely impacted operations at Delhi and other airports across northern India, which is unfortunately beyond our control," IndiGo said in a statement.
As operations are adjusted to prevailing weather conditions, some flights may experience delays, while a few others may be proactively cancelled during the day to prioritise safety and minimise extended waiting at the airport, the airline said in a statement.
IndiGo, however, did not say how many of its flights were cancelled or delayed.
The airline said its teams are "closely monitoring" the situation and coordinating with Delhi airport.
ALSO READ: Messi's Delhi arrival delayed as fog disrupts flight
IndiGo also said it issued advisories to its customers and "proactively" informing them, to minimise inconvenience.
“Poor visibility due to dense fog in Delhi this morning has impacted flight operations for all airlines. We are closely monitoring conditions and will resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so,” Air India said in a post on X in the morning.
It also said that some flights have been cancelled In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for the guests, while listing out some 40 arrivals and departures that it had cancelled for the day.
Delhi airport is the country's busiest, handling around 1,300 flight movements daily.
