Tamil Nadu Government Withdraws Order Excluding Law And Order Department From RTI Act

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday withdrew its controversial order that had placed the Public (Law and Order) Department outside the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, following opposition from allies of the ruling TVK and criticism from the DMK.

The reversal came after Congress and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), both part of the TVK-led alliance, objected to the move and demanded that the order be withdrawn.

What Was The Controversial Order?

The government revoked an order issued by the Human Resources Management (R) Department on September 21.

The order had invoked Section 24(4) of the RTI Act to classify the Public (Law and Order) Department as an “Intelligence and Security Organisation”. The classification would have effectively kept the department outside the RTI framework and restricted public access to information held by it.

The move raised concerns over access to records concerning communal incidents, political protests, custodial deaths and other law-and-order matters.

Earlier on Sunday, school education minister A Rajmohan had defended the original decision, saying it would not affect freedom of expression but that its “lakshman rekha” had to be respected.

Congress, VCK Opposed RTI Exemption

Congress and VCK leaders had called for the order to be withdrawn.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram criticised the decision, calling it a “bad precedent” and arguing that the scope of the RTI Act should be expanded rather than restricted.

He said the order could have prevented access to information concerning investigations into alleged police torture, custodial deaths, police firing, communal clashes and security-related detentions. After the withdrawal, Chidambaram welcomed the government’s decision.

VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan had described the notification as “highly shocking” and warned that it could pave the way for the suppression of human rights. He had also demanded its immediate withdrawal.

DMK Targets Vijay Government

The DMK also attacked the TVK-led government over the order.

DMK MP Kanimozhi described it as an “attempt to cover up its own failures” and questioned the government’s decision to restrict access to law-and-order information under the RTI Act.

In a post on X, Kanimozhi said the government was seeking to restrict RTI rights despite concerns over law and order in the state, asking, “Is this the change they promised?”