- Tamil Nadu government revokes RTI exemption for Law and Order Department.
- Decision came after strong opposition backlash over transparency concerns.
- Department handles sensitive issues like police firings and custodial deaths.
Following fierce criticism from opposition parties, the Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay-led TVK government in Tamil Nadu on Sunday revoked its order exempting the Public (Law and Order) Department from the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
"Government Order Ms No.No 57 of Human Resources Management (R) Department dated 21st September, 2026, relating to exemption of the Public (Law and Order) Department under subsection (4) of section 24 of the RTI Act, 2005, stands revoked," the government stated in an official announcement.
The department handles several sensitive matters, including inquiry reports on police firings, custodial deaths, and police torture. Had the exemption remained, the public would not have had access to these details.
Opposition Attacks Move As Threat to Transparency
The original order triggered sharp political reactions. CPM MP Venkatesan demanded an immediate rollback, stating, "This move is an open effort to change Tamil Nadu into a police state. The Government should immediately withdraw the order."
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also opposed the exemption, highlighting the department's role in examining reports on police actions, custodial deaths, and communal clashes.
"The TVK government's move to exempt the Public (Law and Order) Department from the RTI Act does not set a good precedent. It's worth recalling that RTI was a landmark decision brought in by the Congress-led UPA government, intended to strengthen democratic accountability across India," Chidambaram said.
"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," he added.
What Did TVK Government Say?
Prior to withdrawing the order, TVK ministers defended the earlier notification while assuring the public that their feedback would be considered.
"Only community clash-related incident details will not be given under RTI because many are asking for RTI on community clash. There are 20 sections under Law and Order; only a few sections are exempted from RTI. This is the intention behind the move," TVK Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar said, adding, "However, if the general public expresses discomfort, we will take it to the Chief Minister for further action."
TVK Minister Raj Mohan assured that the move will not affect the freedom of expression.
"The freedom of expression will not get affected. As a Minister of DIPR, I myself will give necessary information to you (media). We also have to understand the Lakshman Rekha in freedom of expression. Intentionally, one should not twist data for the benefit of one specific party," he stated.