‘Pause, reconsider, repeal RTI Act amendment’

• Civil society groups express concerns over the amendment to the RTI Act.

• The amendment would remove all but the first six words of Section 8(1)(j), which exempts personal information from public interest or invasion of privacy.

• The amendment is based on the operation of the RTI Act, 2005, which has demonstrated the law’s ability to withhold the disclosure of personal information.

• The deletion of the proviso in Section 8(1) of the RTI Act, which recognizes citizens’ right to information as equal to legislators’, is deemed unwarranted.

• The Supreme Court judgment in the Puttaswamy v. Union of India case in 2017 nullified much of the exemption, hence included it in the DPDP Act, 2023.

• The DPDP Act, 2023, has not yet been notified, but a draft notification is expected to be finalized soon.