'Pause, review, repeal': Jairam Ramesh says changes to RTI Act is disallowing disclosure of personal information

New Delhi: Rejecting Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's defence of the “RTI-destroying amendment”, Senior Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday urged the Modi government to “pause, review and repeal” the changes made to the RTI Act, 2005 disallowing disclosure of personal information that serves public interest.

In response to a letter by Ramesh on the amendment to the RTI Act through the Digital Personal Data Protect Act, 2023, the minister had said personal details that are subject to public disclosure under various laws will continue to be disclosed under the RTI Act despite section 44 (3) of the DPDP Act.

Ramesh, however, said the Minister’s contention that Section 3 of the DPDP Act would protect disclosures under the RTI has become “wholly irrelevant”, as the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005 have been amended “drastically” and this DPDP Section would only cover the revised version.

Under the original Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, personal information unrelated to any public activity or interest or would result in an unwarranted invasion of privacy. However, such information could be disclosed if it served a larger public interest.

However, Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act amended this RTI section, allowing the withholding of all personal information without consideration of public interest or any other exception.

In his letter, Ramesh also argued that the operation of the RTI Act has demonstrated that it was able to withhold the disclosure of personal information which has no relationship to any public activity or public interest.

He also said the deletion of the provision in the Act that recognises the citizen's right to information as being at par with that of legislators was “completely unwarranted”. At present, a citizen can access any information that is available to an MP or an MLA.

As the Minister referred to the Puttaswamy judgement by the Supreme Court in his letter, Ramesh said nowhere in the judgement it was mentioned that the RTI Act needs to be amended. “The judgement reinforces that safeguarding personal privacy and promoting institutional transparency are not mutually exclusive but are jointly essential,” Ramesh said.

“I would therefore strongly again urge you to 'pause, review, and repeal' the amendment made to the RTI Act, 2005. As you would have seen this issue has also exercised a broad spectrum of people from civil society, academics and political parties,” he added.

Last week, Opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc made public a letter by around 130 MPs objecting to the changes made to the RTI Act, claiming that it destroys the transparency regime.