The Tamil Nadu government has classified the Public (Law and Order) Department as an intelligence and security organisation under Section 24(4) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, thereby exempting it from the scope of the law. A Gazette notification dated September 21, 2026, issued by the Human Resources Management Department, states that the department is now subject to the same exemptions as other intelligence and security organisations. This means information held by the department will generally be inaccessible to RTI requests, unless it pertains to allegations of corruption or human rights violations, which are exceptions under the Act.

The Public (Law and Order) Department handles a wide range of law and order-related matters, including communal and caste clashes, the appointment of Commissions of Inquiry, COFEPOSA and NSA detentions, and the conduct of law and order review meetings. It also deals with inquiry reports on police actions, deaths in custody, and NHRC references. The department is required to furnish monthly reports on law and order and communal incidents to the Government of India and respond to parliamentary questions on law and order matters. The exemption could affect RTI requests seeking information on these topics.

The Tamil Nadu government has previously used Section 24(4) to exclude other organisations, including the Tamil Nadu State Vigilance Commission and the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption. However, the current exemption applies specifically to the Public (Law and Order) Department. The move has drawn criticism from the All India Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), which opposes the decision. AMMK founder T.T.V. Dhinakaran accused the Tamil Nadu government of undermining transparency and called for the decision to be revoked. He stated that the government had previously promised transparency in governance but now seeks to exclude sensitive law and order matters from the RTI Act's scope.

The state government has not issued a formal response to the criticism. The exemption under Section 24(4) does not provide a blanket shield; organisations covered by the provision are still required to disclose information related to corruption and human rights violations. However, the scope of these exceptions is not fully clarified in the current notification. The exact criteria for what constitutes an 'intelligence and security organisation' and the extent of the exemption remain unclear. The government has not provided further details on how the department will handle RTI requests related to corruption or human rights issues.

What remains unknown is the full extent of the department's operations and the specific information that will be exempt from RTI requests. The notification does not specify which types of information will be excluded or how the department will balance transparency with security concerns. The impact of the exemption on public accountability and oversight is also unclear. The Tamil Nadu government has not provided a detailed explanation of the rationale behind the decision, leaving questions about the legal and administrative justification for the exemption unresolved.