The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday withdrew its notification exempting the Public (Law and Order) Department from the Right to Information Act, hours after issuing the Gazette notification that classified the department as an “Intelligence and Security Organisation”.The rollback came after the move drew criticism from political leaders, including Congress’s Karti P Chidambaram and BJP’s Tamilisai Soundararajan. The government, however, did not publicly cite a specific reason for issuing the exemption or explain why it was withdrawn. An official communication later confirmed that the order issued under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act had been rescinded, reported ANI.
What was the notification?
The original notification, issued by the Human Resources Management Department and published in the state Gazette, used the power available to state governments under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act. The provision allowed a state government to notify an organisation established by it as an intelligence or security organisation, thereby taking it outside the normal scope of the RTI Act.Tamil Nadu’s notification designated its Public (Law and Order) Department as such an organisation. Had it remained in force, routine RTI access to a broad range of records held by the department would have been restricted.The records covered included information relating to communal and caste clashes, political agitations, police action and custody, deaths of prisoners, police firing, inquiries into law-and-order incidents and requests for withdrawal of cases arising from political or communal tensions.The exemption was not absolute. Section 24 specifically preserves access to information relating to allegations of corruption and human-rights violations, subject to the procedure prescribed under the Act.The notification itself invoked Section 24(4) and classified the department as an intelligence and security organisation. The government has not, in the material available publicly gave a detailed explanation for why the Public (Law and Order) Department was brought under this provision.The department handles sensitive law-and-order and policing-related matters, which appears to be the basis on which the exemption was framed. But that is distinct from saying that the government officially justified the move on a particular security ground. The notification, as reported, simply exercised the statutory power under Section 24(4).
The backlash
The proposed exemption would have affected access to records concerning issues such as police firing, custodial deaths, torture, communal and caste clashes and politically sensitive cases, prompting criticism that the move could reduce transparency.Karti Chidambaram initially criticised the decision, saying it “does not set a good precedent” and recalling that the RTI Act was enacted by the UPA government to strengthen democratic accountability.“The Law and Order Department handles crucial matters such as examining inquiry reports on police firing, custodial deaths, torture, and deaths of remand prisoners, security-related detention cases, communal and caste clash reports, requests for withdrawal of politically sensitive cases and matters relating to sanction of prosecution for defamatory articles, news items, and speeches. This crucial information is now being shielded from the public. Such rollbacks are not in line with transparent governance. RTI must be expanded, not restricted,” Chidambaram posted on X.After the government withdrew the notification, he welcomed the decision, saying: “My unsolicited & friendly advice to the TVK Government & CMO Tamil Nadu — don’t let bureaucrats set the tone, tenor & direction of the administration.”
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
BJP’s Tamilisai Soundararajan also criticised the original notification, saying: “So they are afraid of meeting the press, they are afraid of meeting the people, and they are afraid of the legal procedures. If you are free and fair, why are you afraid of RTI?” She called the move “undemocratic” and said it should be “highly condemned.”With the withdrawal of the notification, the Public (Law and Order) Department is no longer covered by the newly created exemption.The RTI Act, 2005, establishes a legal framework for citizens to access information held by public authorities, subject to exemptions specified in the law.
Leave a Reply