In a swift political about-face, the Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay-led Tamil Nadu government on Sunday formally revoked a controversial notification that sought to exempt the state’s Public (Law and Order) Department from the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
The sudden reversal came within hours of the original order sparking widespread outrage across the political spectrum. Governing alliance partners, including the Congress and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), had firmly voiced opposition alongside the principal opposition party, the DMK.
The Order and the Backlash
The contested notification, initially issued by the Human Resources Management (R) Department on September 21, invoked Section 24(4) of the RTI Act to classify the Public (Law and Order) Department as an “Intelligence and Security Organisation”.
Under this classification, public disclosure regarding crucial issues—such as communal incidents, political demonstrations, deaths in police custody, and police actions—would have been completely shielded from public scrutiny through routine RTI applications.
Earlier on Sunday, Minister A. Rajmohan had sought to downplay the concerns, assuring that while freedom of expression remained unhindered, a reasonable “Lakshman Rekha” needed to be maintained to prevent data manipulation. However, the defense failed to quell the mounting pushback from political partners and transparency advocates alike.
Opposition and Allies Step Up Pressure
Alliance leaders immediately raised red flags over the move. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram condemned the initial directive as a “bad precedent,” warning that if allowed to stay, crucial records concerning custodial violence, police firings, and security detentions would be hidden from public view.
Echoing these concerns, VCK Chief Thol. Thirumavalavan expressed shock over the gazette order, cautioning that it set a dangerous trajectory toward suppressing basic human rights.
Taking a sharp aim at the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) administration, DMK MP Kanimozhi framed the order as a sign of administrative vulnerability.
”Despite more than five hundred murders, a government incapable of restoring law and order is now attempting to restrict RTI rights so that people cannot even seek information about law and order, apparently to cover up its own failures,” Kanimozhi stated in a post on X. “This is shameful. Is this the change they promised?”
Swift Revocation
Compounded by criticism from civil rights activists and opposition figures, the state government issued a fresh executive order on Sunday afternoon, declaring that the original notification issued under GO Ms. No. 57 stood completely revoked.
With the order now rescinded, all non-classified functions under the state’s Public (Law and Order) Department remain fully open to citizen scrutiny under the RTI framework.