DPDP Act, 2023 Controversy with RTI Act

Background

• The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 was enacted following the Supreme Court’s landmark Puttaswamy judgment (2017), which declared the right to privacy a fundamental right under Article 21. 
• The court had directed the government to establish a data protection regime, leading to the Justice B.N. Sri Krishna Committee (2018) and eventually the DPDP Act, 2023.
• The RTI Act and Original Provision
  • The RTI Act, 2005 empowered citizens to seek information from public authorities. 
  • Section 8(1)(j) originally provided a balanced exemption i.e personal information need not be disclosed unless larger public interest justified it. 
  • This provision struck a proportionate balance between privacy and transparency.

What is the controversy?

• Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act amends Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, replacing the earlier balanced provision with a blanket exemption for all personal information with no exceptions, even in cases of larger public interest.

• Earlier, assets and liabilities of public servants could be disclosed under RTI to probe corruption allegations. This is now blocked under the blanket exemption.
• Even procurement records, audit reports, and public spending details can now be rejected on the premise of being ‘personal information.’
• The amendment effectively shields public officials from accountability under the garb of privacy protection.
• The statement of objects and reasons of the DPDP Bill is silent about the intent behind this amendment thus raising concerns about legislative transparency.

Constitutional Challenge

• The amendment has been challenged in the Supreme Court as ultra vires the Constitution. 
• The matter has been referred to a Constitution Bench given the constitutional sensitivity of the questions involved primarily the tension between Article 19 (freedom of speech and information) and Article 21 (right to privacy).