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The amendment proposed by Justice BN Srikrishna Committee of Experts Report on Data Protection has been opposed by the Information Commissioner Prof. Sridhar Acharyulu and he has written to all Information Commissioners appealing for opposition against the amendments to the Act.
The amendment proposes to replace Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act which presently exempts from disclosure of information. This information can be any personal data which causes harm to a data principal wherein the harm might affect the public interest.
Prof. Acharyulu states that this amendment expands the scope of denial of information such as denial of information relating to a natural person. According to him it does more harm than good. He points out that the definition begins with the word “includes” and hence it could cover situation which are not listed in the provision too. According to him with the ten clauses of harm, there will be ten exit gates to escape from RTI Scrutiny by the people.
Finally, Prof. Acharyulu states that the replacement of Section 8(1)(j) is not necessary as it has balanced the privacy rights of the public servant and the public interest . he also states that the Srikrishna Committee did not consult the Central Information Commission or the public in general before suggesting such changes.
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