PRIVACY VIS-À-VIS TRANSPARENCY: RECONCILING THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 WITH THE DIGITAL PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION ACT, 2023

AUTHOR – DR. S. PADMAJA,M.A. LL.M. PHD., ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN LAW (PT), UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW, KAKATIYA UNIVERSITY, WARANGAL, T.S.(INDIA)

BEST CITATION – DR. S. PADMAJA, PRIVACY VIS-À-VIS TRANSPARENCY: RECONCILING THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 WITH THE DIGITAL PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION ACT, 2023, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (3) OF 2026, PG. 678-683, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344. DOI – https://doi.org/10.65393/GMEO4129

Abstract

The Indian constitutional framework simultaneously advances two foundational democratic commitments: transparency in governance and protection of individual privacy. Transparency, institutionalised through the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act), is essential for accountability, participatory democracy, and control of corruption. Privacy, elevated to the status of a fundamental right under Article 21 by the Supreme Court in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, is integral to human dignity and individual autonomy. The enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) has recalibrated the legal landscape governing informational privacy, particularly in the digital sphere. This article undertakes an in-depth doctrinal, constitutional, and jurisprudential analysis of the interface between privacy and transparency in India. It argues that privacy and transparency are not antithetical values but must be reconciled through principles of proportionality, public interest, and harmonious statutory interpretation. The article further contends that an overly expansive application of data protection norms risks diluting the transformative potential of the RTI regime and weakening democratic accountability.

Keywords: Transparency in Governance, Right to Information Act, 2005, Right to Privacy (Article 21), Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Democratic Accountability