Thiruvananthapuram: The state govt has again exempted two key confidential sections of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) from the Right to Information (RTI) Act, reversing a 2022 decision to bring them under the transparency law.The T1 and T2 sections, which handle sensitive information on vigilance personnel and investigations, have been exempted through a govt notification published on Oct 22. The govt invoked Section 24(4) of the RTI Act, 2005, which empowers state govts to exempt specified intelligence and security organisations from the law through official gazette notifications.The T1 section maintains and processes annual confidential reports of ministerial, executive and legal staff in the vigilance department, personnel files with high security significance and top-secret documents. The T2 section processes weekly diaries of vigilance officers and handles crucial source reports.The BJP alleged that the move was aimed at protecting those facing corruption cases, as the two sections also handle cases involving the chief minister, ministers, political leaders and senior officials. The two sections were initially exempted from the RTI Act under a 2006 govt notification that placed eight state intelligence and security organisations outside its purview. They were brought under the Act in 2022.The move follows the exclusion of secret sections in the police and intelligence departments from the RTI framework. The latest notification adds the two VACB sections to the list of exempted organisations under the provisions of the 2006 govt order.
