Tamil Nadu government withdraws RTI exemption for Law and Order Department amid criticism

The Tamil Nadu government has revoked its recent order exempting the Public (Law and Order) Department from the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The rollback comes days after the decision faced criticism from opposition parties and political leaders.

The government had initially issued the exemption under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act, classifying the Public (Law and Order) Department as an Intelligence and Security Organisation. The move had raised concerns that the public would lose access to information on several matters related to policing and law and order.

In its latest order, the government said, "Government Order Ms.No 57 of Human Resources Management (R) department dated 21st September,2026, relating to exemption of the Public (Law and Order) Department under sub section (4) of section 24 of the RTI Act,2005, stands revoked."

What information could have been affected?

The Public (Law and Order) Department deals with a range of sensitive matters, including inquiry reports related to police firing, custodial deaths and allegations of police torture.

The earlier exemption had also covered areas such as deaths of remand prisoners, security-related detention cases, communal and caste clashes, withdrawal of politically sensitive cases and sanction for prosecution in matters involving defamatory articles, news reports and speeches.

Opposition criticised RTI exemption

The original notification published in the Government Gazette triggered criticism from opposition parties and leaders.

CPM MP Venkatesan had called for the government to withdraw the order, saying, "This move is an open effort to change Tamil Nadu as police state. The Government should immediately withdraw the order."

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also questioned the decision, arguing that the RTI framework was created to improve transparency and accountability in governance.

"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," the Congress MP had complained.

He further highlighted the nature of information handled by the department.

"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 had said.

Government had defended original decision

The government had earlier maintained that the exemption was limited in scope and was primarily aimed at information related to community clashes.

TVK Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar had said, "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 few sections are exempted from RTI. This is the intention behind the move," CTR Nirmal Kumar had said.

He had also said that the government could revisit the decision if members of the public objected to it.

"However, if general public expresses discomfort, we will take it to the Chief Minister for further action," he had said.

(With inputs from agency ANI)

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