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Shimla, May 22
Himachal Pradesh High Court has stayed the state government’s notification excluding the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau from the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, observing prima facie that the decision appeared to be “without authority of law” and contrary to the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005.
A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma passed the interim order on May 20 while hearing a Civil Writ Petition filed by Vinod Kumar challenging the March 12, 2026 notification issued under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act.
The bench issued notices to the state government and other respondents and directed them to file replies within three weeks. The matter has been listed for further hearing on June 24.
The controversy arose from a Vigilance Bureau FIR registered in 2024 in connection with alleged corruption and submission of forged documents. According to the petitioner, 15 persons were named in the complaint, but the Vigilance Bureau allegedly initiated action against only three accused. The complainant later approached the High Court, which directed registration of an FIR against all accused persons.
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Subsequently, the petitioner sought details regarding the status of the investigation under the RTI Act. However, the Vigilance Bureau denied the information, citing the state government’s March 12 notification exempting the bureau from the scope of the RTI Act.
Counsel for the petitioner argued that the exemption violated the spirit of the RTI Act, particularly because Section 24 clearly provides that information relating to allegations of corruption and human rights violations cannot be excluded from disclosure.
During the hearing, the Advocate General defended the notification on the ground that disclosure of sensitive information could hamper investigations. However, the bench observed that the Vigilance Bureau was not an “intelligence or security organisation” covered under Section 24, but a state department established to investigate corruption and economic offences.
The court also clarified that Section 8(h) of the RTI Act only exempts disclosure of information that could impede an investigation and does not empower the government to completely exclude a department from the RTI framework.
It is worthwhile to mention that in every state SV&ACB works under the direction of the state Government . The anti graft body of states proceeds with the investigation under state control and the court decision to not grant any immunity to this agency under RTI reflects that such a body could not work without political influence . Since it should not be given inherent power protect from disclosure of public information to work in a nontransparent manner.
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