CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has exempted the Public (Law and Order) Department from the purview of the Right to Information Act, 2005, by notifying it as an intelligence and security organisation under Section 24(4) of the Act.

The Human Resources Management Department issued the notification through a Government Order dated September 21, published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette.

“The Governor of Tamil Nadu hereby specifies the Public (Law and Order) Department being an Intelligence and Security Organization established by the Government of Tamil Nadu for which the said Act shall not apply,” the order said.

The department handles several sensitive law-and-order matters, including communal and caste clashes, political agitations and preventive detention cases under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) and the National Security Act (NSA).

According to the gazette, it also deals with representations by detainees and habeas corpus petitions before the High Court and Supreme Court, besides conducting monthly law-and-order review meetings and special meetings as directed by the Chief Secretary.

Its responsibilities include examining police enquiry reports into deaths in custody, police torture and deaths of remand prisoners, besides dealing with references from the National Human Rights Commission.

The department also handles reports on law-and-order and communal incidents sent to the Centre, replies to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha questions, agitations by students and agricultural labourers, and requests for withdrawal of cases registered on political grounds.

It also deals with proposals for sanction of prosecution in matters involving defamatory articles, news reports and speeches.

The notification places the department outside the RTI Act, subject to the provisions of Section 24.