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RTI Act amendment: petitions raise privacy versus transparency
સમાચારમાં કેમ?
Section 8(1)(j) exempts personal information: the privacy-versus-transparency test every RTI answer must apply
Petitions challenging the amendment to the Right to Information Act's personal-information exemption have renewed the debate on balancing privacy with transparency. Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005 exempts personal information that has no relationship to any public activity or interest.
Why it matters: asked in UPSC 2018
What you need to know
2 મિનિટ
Petitions challenging the amendment to the Right to Information Act's personal-information exemption have renewed the debate on balancing privacy with transparency.
Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005 exempts personal information that has no relationship to any public activity or interest.
સ્રોત: Topper IAS editorial (PIB / The Hindu / Indian Express)
મુખ્ય તથ્યો
Remember these
- The Right to Information Act was enacted in 2005.
- Section 8(1)(j) exempts personal information that has no relationship to any public activity or interest.
- Section 8(1)(j) also exempts information whose disclosure would be an unwarranted invasion of an individual's privacy.
- The proviso to Section 8(1) says information that cannot be denied to Parliament or a State Legislature cannot be denied to any person.
- In K.S. Puttaswamy (2017), the Supreme Court held privacy to be a fundamental right under Article 21.
પ્રિલિમ્સ · મેઇન્સ
How the exam will ask it
પ્રિલિમ્સ
- Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005 exempts personal information that has no relationship to any public activity or interest.
- The Supreme Court has read the right to information into freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).
- The Supreme Court has held the right to privacy to be a fundamental right under Article 21.
મેઇન્સ
GS-II (Governance, Transparency and Accountability). The issue is the amendment to the personal-information exemption in Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, which sets privacy against the citizen's right to know. The provision must be read with the Puttaswamy privacy ruling and the public-interest override. The way forward is a clear statutory test of proportionality and public interest, with safeguards for genuinely private data and no dilution of transparency about public functions.
PYQ connection
A question UPSC has already asked on this
Consider the following statements:
- 'Right to Privacy' is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution
- In digital economy, privacy of an individual is subject to a reasonable restriction that can be imposed by the state
- The Parliament is empowered to make laws for implementing directive principles of state policy
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
જવાબ જુઓ
જવાબ: D
Why this matters: today's issue is directly connected to a concept UPSC has already tested. Read the story with this question in mind.
Practise this PYQ →Quick recall
Answer before you reveal
Consider the following statements:
- Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 exempts personal information that has no relationship to any public activity or interest.
- The Supreme Court has held that the right to information is not a part of Article 19(1)(a).
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
જવાબ જુઓ
જવાબ: A — 1 only is correct. 1 only is correct. Only 1 is correct. The Supreme Court has treated the right to information as part of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a).
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