HC stays CIC order to Rashtrapati Bhawan on Emergency papers

The Delhi high court on Tuesday stayed a Central Information Commission (CIC) order directing Rashtrapati Bhawan to disclose all the documents, including the communication of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, on the declaration of the Emergency in 1975.

Terming the documents as "classified and privileged", the Central Public Information Officer of Rashtrapati Bhawan challenged the CIC order, saying the President’s Secretariat is not liable to disclose the information and CIC has no jurisdiction in law to pass such a direction.

Issuing notice to Subhash Chandra Aggarwal, the RTI applicant, Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw stayed the CIC’s order till the court’s further order.

Seeking quashing of the Commission’s direction, the President’s office said, "CIC has failed to bear in mind that the information which had been directed to be disclosed directly pertained to the records of the office of the President of India and in doing so failed to appreciate the scope of protection under Article 74 of the Constitution."

On June 15, the Commission had directed the President’s office to make public all the documents on the declaration of the Emergency by the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in 1975, including communication from Indira Gandhi.

However, the transparency panel exempted from disclosure any "advice" tendered by Gandhi to Ahmed on the imposition of Emergency as it would be a privileged document under Article 74 of the Constitution which could not be made public.