Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay

NEW DELHI: The Tamil Nadu government led by CM C Joseph Vijay has exempted the Public (Law and Order) Department from the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, classifying it as an Intelligence and Security Organisation under Section 24(4) of the law.A Gazette notification issued by the state government places the department under the exemption framework applicable to intelligence and security organisations. The move means information held by the department will generally be outside the scope of RTI requests, subject to the statutory exceptions under the Act.

What the exemption means

The Public (Law and Order) Department deals with matters concerning policing, public order and law-and-order administration and RTI Act is a law to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens wherein they can secure access to information under the control of public authorities.This exemption could therefore affect RTI requests seeking information relating to communal incidents, political agitations, police actions and other law-and-order matters handled by the department.The statement reads, “Gazette notification dated September 21, 2026, issued by the Human Resources Management Department, the Governor, exercising powers under Section 24(4) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, has specified the Public (Law and Order) Department as an “Intelligence and Security Organization” established by the Tamil Nadu government, “for which the said Act shall not apply.”

However, Section 24 of the RTI Act does not provide a blanket exemption. Even organisations covered by the provision are required to provide information relating to allegations of corruption and human-rights violations, subject to the procedure prescribed under the law.Tamil Nadu has previously used the provision to exclude organisations including the Tamil Nadu State Vigilance Commission and the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption.