The Kerala government informed the High Court that it has withdrawn its
previous order, issued in January 2016, which exempted the 'T' branch of
the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau from the ambit of the
Right to Information (RTI) Act. The government made this submission
while responding to two petitions filed by the Indian Association of
Lawyers and the Aam Aadmi Party, challenging the 2016 order.
Lawyers' organizations and political parties argued that the (T) branch of the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau is not a security organization or an intelligence agency and it is purely an investigative unit to investigate corruption cases against public servants.
It was alleged in the petitions that the real intention of the state government is to prevent the public from getting information about the cases investigated by the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau against its own ministers and officials. He also argued that the government order of 2016 is against the purpose and goal of the RTI Act and also violates the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution. On the other hand, the state government told the court that the 2016 order was canceled in January 2022. In view of the government's arguments, the court said that it was not going to look at the merits of the petitions. The court closed the petitions."
The
petitioners contended that the 'T' branch is an investigative unit and
not a security or intelligence agency, and the exemption was aimed at
concealing information regarding corruption cases against government
officials. The government informed the court that it revoked the order
in January 2022 and the court closed the petitions.