On October 30, the Supreme Court expressed its unease over the enduring vacancies in Information Commissions throughout the country. The apex court directed the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to produce a detailed chart, capturing the number of vacancies and juxtaposing them with the volume of appeals and complaints across all commissions. Moreover, the court has urged both the Centre and the States to act swiftly in filling these vacancies.
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The bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and inclusive of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, was examining a petition spotlighting the significant vacancies in the information commissions, which were established under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Representing the petitioners, Advocate Prashant Bhushan emphasized that, despite the Supreme Court’s 2019 judgment in Anjali Bhardwaj and Ors v. Union of India, the Central Information Commission (CIC) and several State Information Commissions (SICs) still have unfilled positions. This has culminated in a considerable backlog and extended delays in the adjudication of appeals and complaints.
Chief Justice Chandrachud, articulating the court’s sentiment, remarked,
“The failure of the State governments to fill posts of Information Commissioners defeats the purpose of the RTI Act and affects the right of information which becomes a ‘dead letter’ if vacancies are not filled up.”
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The court’s directive to the DoPT also encompasses instructions for the Central and state governments to take immediate measures to address these vacancies. Additionally, all states have been mandated to promptly issue notifications initiating the process to fill these vacancies.
During the hearing, the petitioners provided a comprehensive status of vacancies across various commissions. The Central Information Commission (CIC) is currently operating without a Chief, with 7 vacancies and only 4 commissioners in office, all of whom are slated to retire by November 6, 2023. Maharashtra’s SIC is grappling with over 1,15,000 pending appeals/complaints and is functioning with only 4 commissioners and no Chief. Jharkhand’s SIC has been inactive since May 2020, with no appeals or complaints being addressed for the past three years. Tripura’s SIC has been non-functional for over two years since July 2021, while Telangana’s SIC has been defunct since February 2023 despite having over 10,000 pending appeals/complaints. Karnataka’s SIC operates with 5 commissioners, with 6 posts vacant and over 40,000 pending appeals/complaints. West Bengal, Odisha, and Bihar’s SICs are also grappling with a significant number of vacancies and pending appeals/complaints.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to revisit this matter in three weeks. The petitioners, represented by Advocates Prashant Bhushan and Rahul Gupta, include Anjali Bhardwaj, Commodore Lokesh Batra (Retd), and Amrita Johri.