RAS question
Section 24 of the RTI Act exempts which category of organizations from the Act?
Correct answer: (C) Intelligence and security organizations specified in the Second Schedule (but information relating to corruption and human rights violations is not exempt).
Section 24 of the Right to Information Act exempts intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, but not information relating to allegations of corruption or human rights violations.
Explanation
Section 24 is not a blanket exclusion from the RTI Act. It says the Act does not apply to intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, including bodies such as the Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, BSF and CRPF, or to information furnished by such organisations to the Central Government. The important proviso is the exam point: information linked to allegations of corruption or human rights violations is not excluded. For human rights violation allegations, the Act requires approval of the Central Information Commission, and the information has to be provided within the special time limit stated in Section 24. That is why option C captures both the exempted category and its accountability carve-out.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Section 24 is not limited to defence organisations; it covers the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule.
- (B) The exemption is tied to specified intelligence and security organisations, not to all private organisations.
- (D) Section 24 does not exempt all government departments; it protects only the specified intelligence and security category, with corruption and human-rights exceptions.
Concept
This tests RTI exemptions under Indian governance, especially the balance between security secrecy and accountability. It recurs in RAS because Section 24 turns on a precise proviso: scheduled security bodies are exempt, but corruption and human-rights information is carved back in.