RTI Exemption Withdrawn
Tamil Nadu government withdraws order exempting Law and Order Department from RTI
Anonymous
Tamil Nadu’s TVK government has withdrawn its order exempting the Public (Law and Order) Department from the Right to Information Act after the move drew criticism from opposition parties and media. Issued under Section 24(4), the order had classified the department as an intelligence and security organization, potentially restricting access to information on communal incidents, political agitations, police firing, custodial deaths and torture, and preventive detention. The government had argued the exemption was limited in intent, while critics said it would weaken democratic accountability; statutory exceptions for information involving corruption and human-rights violations would have remained. The department is again covered by the RTI Act following the reversal.
Key Points
1
Before the reversal, TVK Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar said the intention was to withhold only details related to community-clash incidents, adding that the department handled 20 subject areas and only a few would be exempt. He also said the government could reconsider if the public objected.
2
The department also handles representations by detainees and habeas corpus petitions filed on their behalf in the High Court and Supreme Court—functions that could have been affected by the exemption.
3
Tamil Nadu had previously used Section 24(4) to exempt other bodies, including the Tamil Nadu State Vigilance Commission and the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption.
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