The Right to Information (RTI) Commission yesterday (13) ordered the Presidential Secretariat to release, before 31 January, information requested on vehicles handed over to the Secretariat by officials whose appointments were limited to the term of the former President.
Freelance journalist Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi had filed the original RTI request seeking details of the vehicles handed over to the Presidential Secretariat after 23 September 2024. The Secretariat refused to disclose the vehicle registration numbers, claiming that providing such information would invade personal privacy and potentially pose a security risk. The Commission rejected this position during today’s appeal hearing and instructed the Secretariat to release the information within the stipulated timeframe.
Hettiarachchi submitted his RTI request on 29 January 2025. The designated officer rejected it on 20 February 2025, citing national security grounds. An appeal was subsequently filed with the RTI Commission on 20 March 2025.
The case was first taken up by the Commission on 28 May 2025, after which the Presidential Secretariat repeatedly altered its stance. The Commission summoned the Secretariat seven times, with representatives failing to appear on several occasions.
The matter was revisited yesterday (13), leading to the Commission’s directive to comply and release the information before 31 January.
