Supreme Court seeks Centre's response on pleas challenging data protection law

On August 7, 2026, the Supreme Court requested the Central government to submit a response to a series of legal challenges against amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act. These amendments were incorporated through the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. The five-member Bench, consisting of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, heard arguments presented by senior advocate Vrinda Grover and advocate Prashant Bhushan.

The Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, representing the Central government, was then directed to file the government's response. The petitions claimed that the modifications weaken transparency by eliminating the public interest safeguard for the disclosure of personal information. The challenges focus on Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, which addresses exemptions from the disclosure of personal information.