RTI framework ‘nuked’? SHANTI Bill triggers alarm, grants centre sweeping secrecy powers

By Rajiv Shah

Has the Government of India finally moved to completely change important provisions of the , that too without bringing about any amendment in the top transparency law? It would seem so, if one is to believe well known civil society leaders' keen observations on the nuclear energy Bill passed in the .

Senior RTI activist has sharply criticised the recently passed , saying that it has effectively “nuked” the Right to Information (RTI) Act through the back door.

In a social media post, Johri wrote: “The RTI Act just got NUKED through the SHANTI bill—RTI amendments through the back door! empowers central government to create new categories of information which will be exempt from disclosure under the RTI Act. This completely destroys the RTI framework. Huge blow to sunshine law! #saverti.”

The SHANTI Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha during the ongoing by a voice vote amid a walkout by opposition parties, despite concerns raised by several Members of Parliament about its far-reaching implications. The legislation marks a major overhaul of India’s nuclear energy framework by opening the civil nuclear sector to private participation for the first time, repealing parts of older Acts including the and the to encourage investment and technological collaboration in the sector.

A core point of contention highlighted by Johri and other transparency advocates lies in the Bill’s provisions on information disclosure. Under , the Central Government is empowered to declare any information not in the public domain that it deems “detrimental to national security or public interest” as restricted information. This restricted category can include, among other things: the location, quality and quantity of prescribed substances and transactions; processing, production or extraction of fissile material; the design, siting, construction and operation of nuclear power plants or reactors; and research and technological work on related materials or processes. Once declared restricted, such information is explicitly debarred from disclosure under the RTI Act, even though the RTI would normally apply to public authority records.

Specific language quoted from the Bill states that “No person shall disclose or obtain … any restricted information” and that the Central Government may, by notification, prohibit the publication in any form whatsoever of restricted information.” It further provides that “notwithstanding anything contained in the Right to Information Act, 2005, the information declared as restricted information … shall be debarred from disclosure under the provisions of that Act.”

Opposition members and civil society critics argue that by granting such sweeping discretionary powers to the executive and creating entirely new exemptions that override the RTI Act without amending it directly, the SHANTI Bill undermines years of work establishing India’s transparency regime. Activists like Johri say this will severely limit the public’s ability to scrutinise government policy and operations in a sector that, while sensitive, also has profound safety, environmental and economic implications.

The government, for its part, has defended the provisions as essential for national security and public safety, asserting that the existing RTI framework already provides for exemptions on sensitive information and that greater clarity is needed in the context of nuclear energy governance.

As the Bill now moves to the for further consideration, the debate is expected to intensify over the balance between transparency and what the powers-that-be consider security concerns in one of the allegedly most strategically important but controversial sectors of India’s economy and infrastructure.

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