Government exempts Vigilance's 'T Section' from RTI Act; key information to remain confidential

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has issued a notification exempting the T Section of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) from the Right to Information (RTI) Act. With this move, crucial information held by the Vigilance Bureau will remain confidential and will no longer be accessible under the RTI Act if it is transferred to the T Section. The Vigilance Director will have the authority to decide which information should be transferred to the T Section. However, the move has triggered allegations that it is aimed at keeping cases involving political leaders out of the purview of the RTI Act.

When the RTI Act was first introduced, the confidential T Section was kept outside its purview. However, the section was brought back under the RTI Act in 2022. The government has now issued a fresh notification exempting it once again. The T Sections at the Police Headquarters and the Crime Branch had already been exempted from the RTI Act. Since the Vigilance Director can decide which information should be transferred to the T Section, critics fear that any file could now be moved to the section and kept confidential, effectively placing it beyond public access under the RTI Act.