The Supreme Court came down heavily upon a Rajasthan High Court judgment where a judge suo moto directed the Centre to exempt all judges of the High Courts from security check at airports, which is exclusive to constitutional heads and SPG protectees.
Though the judgment was 11-year old and was stayed by the Supreme Court in January 2006, the legal issue remained whether a judge in his own right, could direct the Centre to grant him VIP privilege at airports to which he is otherwise not entitled under Rules.
Setting aside the May 13, 2005 order passed by the Rajasthan HC, an apex bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur, Justices DY Chandrachud and lN Rao said, “Matters of security are not issues of prestige nor are they matters of status.” It held that the HC could not have applied judicial review in an area exclusivey reserved for executive which grants exemption based on threat perception and security coverage to be provided to such citizens who face high degree of danger.
The HC had held the view that if certain persons among VVIPs have been exempted, then all constitutional functionaries must enjoy this privilege.