Ashwini Vaishnaw Clarifies RTI Disclosures Will Not Be Affected By New Data Protection Rules

Personal details subject to public disclosure under various laws will continue to be disclosed under the Right to Information Act after the implementation of the new data protection rules, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has clarified.

Vaishnaw provided this clarification through a post on a social media platform in response to a letter from opposition Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who had sought to "pause, review and repeal" Section 44 (3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023.

In his letter dated March 23, Ramesh had argued that Section 44 (3) of the DPDP Act prohibits sharing personal information under the RTI Act 2005.

"Any personal information that is subject to disclosure under legal obligations under various laws governing our public representatives and welfare programmes etc. will continue to be disclosed under the RTI Act. In fact, this amendment will not restrict disclosure of personal information, rather it aims to strengthen the privacy rights of individuals and prevent the potential misuse of the law," Vaishnaw said.

The minister referred to Section 3 of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023 to explain the government's stance.

According to Section 3 of the DPDP Act, the provisions of the Act will not apply to personal data processed by an individual for personal or domestic purposes or personal data made publicly available by the individual or any other person who is under a legal obligation to make such data publicly available.

Section 44 (3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 seeks to amend Clause 8 (1) (j) of the RTI Act 2005, which had been intended to prevent the sharing of personal information under the RTI Act 2005.