HC stays CIC order to make Emergency documents public

The Delhi high court on Tuesday stayed a Central Information Commission (CIC) order to the President of India's office directing it to disclose all documents relating to the declaration of the national Emergency in 1975, including communications from the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, to former president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, who officially declared the Emergency.

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 applicant under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw stayed the CIC's 15 June directive to Rashtrapati Bhawan till the court's further orders.

Seeking quashing of the CIC'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."

The CIC, the union government's the transparency authority, had however 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.

According to the CIC order, the Emergency was a challenge to India's commitment to democracy and was symbolised by curtailment of fundamental rights of citizens, restrictions on the freedom of press, illegal detention, abuse of citizens and enactment of draconian laws.

Older Indian citizens would recall that the Emergency was declared after Indira Gandhi lost a case at the Allahabad High court relating to the misuse of official machinery for electioneering purposes, which could have cost her the prime ministership.

Being the only such declaration in India's Independent history, it is still spelt with a capital 'E' in the country.