DPDP Act in harmony with principles of Right to Information Act: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 is in harmony with the principles of transparency in public life as enacted in the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Minister of Information & Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw has said.

Vaishnaw said this while replying to MP and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who recently said that “Section 44(3) of the Data Protection Act, 2023 virtually destroys the Right to Information Act, 2005.” He said he had “written to the Minister concerned in this regard urging for pause, review, and repeal of that dangerous Section.”

In his reply Vaishnaw said, “The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 is in harmony with privacy principles as enshrined in the Puttaswamy judgment and the principles of transparency in public life as enacted in the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

In the Puttaswamy judgment, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India held that the Right to Privacy is an integral part of the Right to Life protected as a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This right to privacy is closely linked to the protection of personal information.

Therefore, throughout the extensive consultation process, both with the civil society and in multiple parliamentary fora, the need for harmonious provisions between the right to information and the right to privacy was emphasized.”

The DPDP Act, as enacted by the Parliament, harmonizes this requirement while maintaining the need for transparency in public life.

This is ensured through section 3 of the DPDP Act, quoted below:

"Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall -... (c) not apply to ... (ii) personal data that is made or caused to be made publicly available by -... (B) any other person who is under an obligation under any law for the time being in force in India to make such personal data publicly available"

Therefore, any personal information that is subject to disclosure under legal obligations under various laws governing our public representatives and welfare programmes like MGNREGA, 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 the individuals and prevent the potential misuse of the law.