Vijay RTI Exemption Revoked After Tamil Nadu Backlash

CHENNAI — The Vijay RTI exemption, which briefly shielded Tamil Nadu's Public (Law and Order) Department from the Right to Information Act, stands revoked after a week of political backlash. The U-turn has become one of the defining early episodes of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam-led government's first months in office.

Government Order Ms.No.57, issued by the Human Resources Management Department on 21 September 2026, classified the Public (Law and Order) Department as an intelligence and security organisation under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act. That provision lets states keep certain intelligence and security bodies outside the Act's normal disclosure duties, while still requiring information on corruption and human-rights violations to be shared. On 27 September, the government revoked the order.

"Government Order Ms No.No 57 of Human Resources Management (R) Department dated 21st September, 2026, relating to exemption of the Public (Law and Order) Department under subsection (4) of section 24 of the RTI Act, 2005, stands revoked," the government stated in an official announcement. With that order, the Vijay RTI exemption — and the week of controversy it created — came to an end. The episode has become a case study in how quickly Tamil Nadu RTI controversies can escalate into full-blown political rows.

Vijay RTI Exemption Drew Fire Over Police Records

The Vijay RTI exemption, notified through GO Ms.No.57, provoked criticism because the Public (Law and Order) Department handles sensitive matters — inquiry reports on police firings, custodial deaths, alleged torture, communal and caste clashes, preventive detention and requests to withdraw politically charged cases. Transparency advocates warned that policing and security records risked being shut away from public view.

Opposition parties led the charge. The DMK called the move "shameful," arguing it contradicted the transparency promises the Vijay government made during the election campaign. Members of the ruling alliance, including the Congress and VCK, also opposed the order, along with civil-society groups. The Vijay RTI exemption, critics said, would have shielded inquiry reports on police firings and custodial deaths from public view. Reports of the gazette notification drew wider notice around 27 September, and the government revoked GO Ms.No.57 the same day, barely a week after it was issued.

Law Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar had defended the Vijay RTI exemption, saying some information relating to sensitive matters, including communal clashes, needed protection. "Only community clash-related incident details will not be given under RTI because many are asking for RTI on community clash. There are 20 sections under Law and Order; only a few sections are exempted from RTI," he said, adding that the government would reconsider the matter in response to public concerns. Minister Raj Mohan, who holds the information portfolio, assured that the move would not affect freedom of expression.

Vijay RTI Exemption Reversal Tests New Government

The episode is the latest in a series of reversals during the new administration's early months, with the government having also withdrawn a directive on student participation in political protests and cancelled an appointment to the Chief Minister's office. Supporters and critics have offered different interpretations of the pattern, while the government has said decisions can be reconsidered following public feedback.

Legal experts note that Section 24 of the RTI Act is not absolute: information on allegations of corruption and human-rights violations remains disclosable under prescribed procedures, a point the government cited in defending the limited intent of the original order. The department handles matters squarely in that zone, which critics said made the exemption untenable.

The defence of the Vijay RTI exemption did little to calm the backlash. For the TVK government led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, the rapid reversal of the Vijay RTI exemption has underscored the political limits of shielding law-and-order records from Right to Information scrutiny — and raised the likelihood of continued scrutiny over Tamil Nadu RTI requests for years to come.