The Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued an interim stay on a state government notification that aimed to remove the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) from the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The court observed that the move prima facie appeared to be without any authority of law and conflicted with the provisions of the Act.
A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma passed the interim order while hearing a petition challenging the notification issued on March 12 under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act. The court has directed the state government to file its response by June 24.
The impugned notification sought to bring the vigilance bureau under the category of exempted organisations to which the RTI Act does not apply. However, the court noted that Section 24 of the Act permits exemption only to "intelligence and security organisations" established by the state government. Referring to the original notification dated November 15, 2006, which constituted the state vigilance and ACB, the bench observed that the bureau was established as a department for investigation of corruption and economic offences under various laws, including the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act, Essential Commodities Act, Motor Vehicles Act, Indian Forest Act, and other state legislations. The court added that the notification itself clearly demonstrated that the bureau was not an intelligence or security organisation.
During the hearing, Advocate General Anup Rattan defended the notification by citing Section 8(h) of the RTI Act, which exempts disclosure of information that could impede investigation, apprehension, or prosecution of offenders. The court, however, was not convinced and issued the stay order.
This development has significant implications for transparency and accountability in the state's anti-corruption machinery. The decision reinforces the principle that only organisations specifically designated as intelligence or security agencies can be exempted from the RTI Act.
