Balancing Privacy and Transparency: Amendments in RTI Act

The amendment to the RTI Act, aligning with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, balances the Right to Privacy with Right to Information. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament about provisions allowing information access if public interest in disclosure outweighs potential harm to protected interests.

Devdiscourse News Desk | New Delhi | Updated: 20-08-2025 21:41 IST | Created: 20-08-2025 21:41 IST

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Country:
India

The Indian Parliament was appraised on Wednesday about amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act through integration with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. This change aims to balance the Right to Privacy with the Right to Information.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explained in a Lok Sabha session that the amendment to Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act was crafted to align with the Supreme Court's decision in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India. The modifications are set to ensure judicial reasoning on reasonable restrictions is respected, while codifying existing legal perspectives to prevent legal conflicts.

Further amendments allow public authorities to disclose information if the public interest in disclosure is greater than any potential harm to protected interests. Vaishnaw assured that these tweaks do not curtail personal data disclosure unnecessarily but rather harmonize transparency and privacy within legal frameworks.

(With inputs from agencies.)