JUDGMENT :

D.Y. Chandrachud, J.

A Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court by its judgment dated 13 May 2005 issued a direction to the Union Government and to its Secretaries in the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Home Affairs “to include the Chief Justices and the judges of the High Court in the list of persons exempted from pre-embarkation security checks” at airports and to amend a circular dated 1 May 2002, Circular 12 of 2002 of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). This exercise was directed to be completed within thirty days. The High Court has directed that certain suggestions formulated by it for laying down a ‘National Security Policy’ should be considered by the Union government. The Union of India moved this Court under Article 136 of the Constitution. Leave has been granted on 20 January 2006, and the judgment of the High Court was stayed.

2. The case before the High Court arose from a report that was published in the daily edition of the Rajasthan Patrika on 10 February 2000, of a breach of security which took place at Sanganer Airport, Jaipur. On 8 February 2000, a person who was to board a flight to Mumbai was detained by airport security staff for carrying