The Supreme Court of India has refused to stay the recent amendment that links the country’s data protection regime with changes to the transparency law under the Right to Information Act, even as it agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the move. The challenge arises from amendments introduced through the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which altered provisions dealing with the disclosure of personal information under the RTI framework.
Petitioners have argued that the amendment significantly weakens citizens’ access to information by expanding the scope of exemptions related to personal data. They contend that the revised provision removes earlier safeguards that allowed disclosure of personal information if it served a larger public interest, thereby narrowing the transparency mechanism that has been central to public accountability. According to them, the changes risk shielding public officials from scrutiny and may undermine the democratic purpose of the RTI law.
The Supreme Court, however, declined to grant interim relief that would have put the amendment on hold. While issuing notice to the Union government and seeking its response, the Bench indicated that the matter requires detailed consideration but does not warrant an immediate suspension of the amended provision. As a result, the changes will remain in force until the court reaches a final decision.
At the heart of the dispute is the balance between two constitutional principles: the right to privacy and the right to information. In its landmark ruling in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, the Supreme Court affirmed privacy as a fundamental right. At the same time, the RTI law has long been viewed as a powerful instrument to ensure transparency and curb arbitrariness in governance. The present case raises the question of how these competing values should be harmonized in the context of evolving data protection standards.
The Union government is expected to defend the amendment as a necessary step to align the RTI framework with contemporary privacy norms and the objectives of data protection legislation. The petitioners, meanwhile, maintain that the amendment goes beyond reasonable privacy protection and effectively curtails the public’s right to know. The court’s eventual ruling is likely to have far-reaching consequences for the relationship between privacy, transparency, and accountability in India’s constitutional order.
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