Editorial: An Oversight or Overreach?

Dear Readers,

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This issue of your journal is devoted to a new threat to India’s Right to Information Act. Bizarrely, the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023 now overwrites the RTI Act to prohibit the disclosure of information deemed personal. It may be denied even in matters of corruption or illegality by government functionaries. And if an investigative journalist exposes acts of omission and commission, she may face imprisonment or ridiculous penalties running into hundreds of crores. It will have a chilling effect on anyone trying to hold the powerful to account.

The RTI Act is an important milestone in India’s democratic journey. It allows citizens to check if the public servants are doing their job, and if the public money is being spent fairly. In the past, information has been routinely blocked in the name of national security or public safety. More recently, information has been denied about the revision of the electoral roll in Bihar. However, these are routine denials; the new onslaught may demolish RTI altogether.

Just as RTI, civil society has fought hard for years to make privacy a fundamental right. Both laws are vital for democracy. Common Cause journal has had separate cover stories on both issues. We believe that the clashing aspects of the two laws should be resolved in the public interest with logic and reason, and in consultation with all stakeholders. Doing nothing will certainly harm both the causes--of the individual’s privacy and her freedom of information. We hope that good sense will prevail.

The articles in the following pages try to simplify the underlying issues and their consequences. We also discuss the evolution of India’s RTI Act with global comparisons.

As always, your views and comments are welcome (Please write to us at contact@commoncause.in)

Vipul Mudgal

Editor

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