The Delhi High Court has held that the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) relating to Units I and II of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu is exempt from disclosure under the Right to Information Act, 2005, holding that the document is protected by statutory exemptions concerning fiduciary relationships, national security interests and India’s relations with a foreign State.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav set aside a 2012 order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), which had directed the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to disclose the report to RTI applicant SP Udaykumar after redacting proprietary design-related information.
The Court held that NPCIL was in possession of the SAR in a fiduciary capacity on behalf of the Russian Federation and, therefore, the document was exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act. The Court further ruled that disclosure of the report could adversely affect India’s scientific and strategic interests, as well as its diplomatic relations with a foreign government, thereby attracting the exemption contained in Section 8(1)(a) of the Act.
While examining the nature of the project, the Court noted that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was established pursuant to an inter-governmental agreement between India and Russia, with the reactor technology and design being supplied by the Russian side. The judgment records that the Russian entity associated with the project had specifically objected to the publication of the Safety Analysis Report, asserting confidentiality over the document.
The High Court observed that the Safety Analysis Report contains sensitive technical and safety-related information concerning the nuclear facility and forms part of a framework involving international cooperation and strategic infrastructure. In such circumstances, disclosure of the document could not be treated as an ordinary exercise under the transparency regime of the RTI Act.
Justice Kaurav also relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in *G. Sundarrajan v. Union of India*, wherein the apex court had examined and rejected various challenges concerning the safety and operational aspects of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project. Referring to the findings of the Supreme Court, the High Court held that safety concerns relating to the project had already undergone judicial scrutiny at the highest level. Consequently, no overriding public interest existed that would justify disclosure of the report despite the statutory exemptions available under the RTI Act.
The dispute originated from an RTI application filed by Udaykumar in 2010 seeking access to the Safety Analysis Report, Site Evaluation Report and Environmental Impact Assessment Report relating to Reactors I and II of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. Following the application, the Central Information Commission in 2012 directed disclosure of the Safety Analysis Report after excluding proprietary reactor design details.
Aggrieved by the CIC’s direction, NPCIL approached the Delhi High Court challenging the order. Allowing the petition, the High Court held that the CIC had failed to adequately consider the fiduciary nature of the information, the strategic implications of disclosure and the international obligations arising from the Indo-Russian nuclear cooperation framework.
Accordingly, the Court concluded that the Safety Analysis Report of Units I and II of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is protected from disclosure under the RTI Act and set aside the CIC’s order directing its release.
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