Summary
On September 21, 2026, the Tamil Nadu government issued G.O. Ms. No. 57 under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act, 2005, notifying its Public (Law and Order) Department as an intelligence and security organisation outside the Act's purview.
Designated RTI officers began citing it to deny information from September 22, although the order became public only on September 27 and it was withdrawn soon after without explanation. The State Law Minister had said the aim was to shield sensitive district-level inquiries into communal clashes, material Section 8 of the Act can already protect.
Behind the episode lies quieter opacity: the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission faces over 41,000 pending appeals and complaints, works with about half its sanctioned Information Commissioners and has no Chief Information Commissioner.
The ethical question falls on the Public Information Officer asked to enforce an order the public cannot see.
WHY IN NEWS FOR UPSC & STATE PCS
Tamil Nadu withdrew G.O. Ms. No. 57, issued on September 21, 2026 under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act to exempt the Public (Law and Order) Department, after it emerged on September 27 that officials had been citing it to reject RTI applications since September 22.
The episode renews attention to the Satark Nagrik Sangathan 2024-25 report card showing over 41,000 pending appeals and complaints before a headless Tamil Nadu State Information Commission.
Standard News
The Refusal Letter You Are Asked to Sign
Imagine you are a Public Information Officer in Tamil Nadu's Public (Law and Order) Department. On September 22, you are told to reject pending RTI applications by citing G.O. Ms. No. 57. The order was issued the previous day under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act.
It declares your department an "intelligence and security organisation" beyond the Act's reach. It is not yet public. It will surface only on September 27. The easy answer would be to refuse to cite it. But the easy answer ignores why a good officer would hesitate.
Why obeying is not simply cowardice - The power is real. Section 24(4) genuinely allows a State to exempt security organisations.
On its face, the order is lawful.
- The stakes may be real. The government said the aim was to protect sensitive inquiries into communal clashes. A careless disclosure could inflame a district.
- You are not a court. A PIO who second-guesses every government order substitutes personal judgment for the chain of accountability the law designed.
Why obeying still feels wrong - Section 8 already did the job. The Act already lets you withhold information that endangers life, security or investigations, case by case, with reasons an applicant can challenge. The blanket order adds nothing except the removal of scrutiny.
- An unseen law cannot be contested. Citing an order the applicant cannot read turns a legal ground into an unanswerable one.
- The exemption has limits. Even exempted bodies must disclose information on corruption and human-rights violations. A blanket refusal erases that line.
The resolution A thoughtful PIO should decide each application on its merits under Section 8 first.
Where information is genuinely sensitive, refuse under Section 8 with a reasoned order. Where the only ground for refusal is G.O. Ms. No. 57, record that plainly with its number and date, inform the applicant of appeal rights and put in writing to superiors that relying on an unpublished notification exposes the department.
Disclose anything touching corruption or human-rights violations regardless. This costs something. The PIO risks displeasure from superiors. Some applicants will still be refused until the order is withdrawn, as it was after it became public.
The quieter problem Even the PIO's best answer ends with "you may appeal".
In Tamil Nadu, that appeal joins over 41,000 pending cases before an Information Commission working at about half strength with no Chief Information Commissioner. A government need not amend a law to defeat it; it can simply leave the referee's chair empty. Transparency is protected not only by what officers refuse to hide, but by whether anyone is left to hear the citizen who asks.
Quick Facts
Key numbers & takeaways — revise these first
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The Right to Information Act was enacted by Parliament in 2005.
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Section 24(4) allows a State government to exempt intelligence and security organisations it establishes from the RTI Act by notification.
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Section 24(5) requires such a notification to be laid before the State Legislature.
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Even exempted organisations must disclose information relating to allegations of corruption and human rights violations.
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Section 8 of the Act lists case-by-case exemptions, including information affecting security or likely to endanger life or impede investigation.
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Tamil Nadu issued G.O.
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Ms.
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No.
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57 on September 21, 2026; it became public on September 27 and was later withdrawn.
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Under Section 20, a PIO who refuses information without reasonable cause can face a personal penalty.
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Satark Nagrik Sangathan's 2024-25 report card found over 41,000 pending appeals and complaints before the TNSIC.
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The TNSIC has a sanctioned strength of eight Information Commissioners plus a Chief Information Commissioner and currently has no Chief.
Connect the dots for your UPSC preparation.
Standard news covers the event. Log in to read our comprehensive analysis and uncover the hidden constitutional, structural, and ethical dimensions of this topic:
Kant's principle of publicity applied directly to G.O. Ms. No. 57 and why an order that could not survive being public fails the test before any consequences are counted.
The consequentialist case for obeying, built honestly around the risk of disclosing inquiries into communal clashes.
The exact step-by-step decision a PIO should take on September 22 and the personal cost that decision carries.
Why the TNSIC's 41,000-case backlog and empty Chief's post turn every "you may appeal" into a promise the system cannot keep.
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