The directive of SC follows the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that highlighted the lack of progress in filling vacancies despite the Court's 2019 judgment in Anjali Bhardwaj v. Union of India.
SC’s Key Observations & Directions
- Central Information Commission (CIC): The CIC has a Chief Information Commissioner and 2 Information Commissioners (ICs). There are 10 sanctioned posts for ICs.
- States: Most states have initiated selection processes of State Information Commissions (SICs) but lack clear timelines for appointments.
- Highlighted the need for diversity in appointments: As the 2019 judgment mandated selecting ICs from various walks of life, not just bureaucrats.
- Supreme Court Directives: ToDepartment of Personnel and Training & States that they should provide a detailed timelines for selection completion and appointment notifications of Information Commissioners.
Concerns due to Defunct Information Commissions
- Vacancies in ICs lead to increased pendency: E.g., West Bengal IC would take 24 years to dispose of a complaint filed in 2022.
- Proactive Disclosure Gaps: A significant portion (44%) of RTIs is filed for information that should be proactively disclosed under Section 4 of the RTI Act, but such disclosures have declined over the years.
- Defunct Commissions: Several ICs, such as those in Tripura and Jharkhand, are defunct and do not contribute to addressing the backlog.
Important Supreme Court judgments related to RTI
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