New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed grave concern over the mounting vacancies in the Central and State Information Commissions, warning that the government’s inaction is severely weakening the public’s Right to Information (RTI).
A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Bagchi issued strong directions to multiple states to immediately fill the vacant posts and revive commissions that have become dysfunctional.
The court was hearing a petition filed by RTI activists Anjali Bhardwaj, Commodore Lokesh Batra (Retd), and Amrita Johri, represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Rahul Gupta. Bhushan highlighted what he called an “alarming collapse” of the transparency architecture, pointing out that vacancies had crippled both the Central Information Commission (CIC) and several State Information Commissions (SICs).
Petitioners informed the court that the CIC has been functioning without a Chief Information Commissioner for over two months. Of the 10 sanctioned posts, eight remain vacant, even as the backlog nears 30,000 appeals and complaints.
The bench was told that several states are facing an equally dire situation:
Jharkhand: The SIC has been defunct for over five years and has recently stopped registering new cases altogether.
Himachal Pradesh: The commission has remained non-functional for more than four months.
Chhattisgarh: A single commissioner is handling nearly 35,000 pending matters.
Maharashtra: With three vacancies and one of the largest backlogs in India, the SIC is struggling with nearly 1 lakh pending appeals.
Tamil Nadu: Despite 41,000 pending cases, the government has sanctioned only seven commissioner posts—well below what is needed.
Madhya Pradesh: Only four commissioners are in place to deal with around 20,000 pending appeals.
Petitioners argued that despite huge caseloads, governments have shown “complete disregard” for statutory obligations, leading to delays of more than a year in disposing of RTI appeals.
Taking note of the widespread vacancies, the bench issued clear timelines:
Himachal Pradesh: Fill all vacancies within two months.
Jharkhand: Complete the appointment process within one month.
Union Government: Expedite the selection committee meeting and complete appointments to the CIC “at the earliest.”
The bench emphasised that timely appointments are essential to uphold the spirit of the 2019 Anjali Bhardwaj judgment, which requires transparency and openness in the selection of information commissioners.
Since the last hearing on October 27, the Karnataka government—led by the Congress—has filled all vacant posts, and its SIC is now functioning at full strength with 11 commissioners. The court described this as “significant progress.”
Before concluding, the bench said it would review compliance again in the coming days.
Petitioners stressed that unless governments fulfil their statutory duties and ensure transparent, timely appointments, the RTI regime will continue to erode—depriving citizens of a crucial democratic tool to seek accountability.
By Abdul Bari Masoud
