(From right) INDIA bloc leaders Priyanka Chaturvedi, Gaurav Gogoi and Jhon Brittas address the media at the Press Club of India, in New Delhi on April 10, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Opposition INDIA bloc on Thursday (April 10, 2025) demanded repeal of Section 44 (3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP), contending that it destroys the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
At a joint press conference in New Delhi, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said over 120 MPs of the INDIA bloc parties, including Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, have signed a joint memorandum for repeal of this Section and it will be submitted to Information and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The press conference was attended by MM Abdulla (DMK), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena-UBT), John Brittas (CPI-M), Javed Ali Khan (SP) and Naval Kishor (RJD).
Civil rights activists have opposed the Section 44 (3) of the DPDP Act that seeks to substitute Section 8 (1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005, Mr. Gogoi said.
Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act allowed withholding of personal information if its disclosure was unrelated to any public activity or interest or would result in an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
However, this restriction was subject to an important safeguard: if the Central Public Information Officer, the State Public Information Officer, or the appellate authority determined that disclosing the information served a larger public interest, it could still be made available.
Section 44 (3) of the DPDP Act amends Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act that allows government bodies to withhold “information which relates to personal information,” with no consideration for the public interest or any other exception.
Published – April 10, 2025 04:17 pm IST