The Supreme Court on Monday refused to issue a directive to make public the names of candidates shortlisted for the post of Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and Information Commissioners in the Central Information Commission.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, directed all states — including Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh — to take immediate steps to fill the vacant posts in their respective State Information Commissions (SICs).
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing petitioners Anjali Bhardwaj and others, told the court that the government was “trying to kill the Right to Information Act” by keeping information commissions defunct.
He pointed out that the Central Information Commission currently has no chief, and that eight out of ten commissioner posts remain vacant. As a result, he said, the CIC is burdened with a backlog of nearly 30,000 cases.
Bhushan urged the court to direct the Centre to publicly disclose the names of shortlisted candidates, saying citizens have the right to know whether qualified and independent persons are being appointed.
Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, appearing for the Union government, said the search committee had already shortlisted names and forwarded them to a selection panel headed by the Prime Minister.
He added that the panel was expected to finalise the appointments within two to three weeks, and requested that no further directions be issued by the court.
The bench declined to issue a disclosure directive but emphasised that all vacancies in the Central and State Information Commissions must be filled promptly.
“We are not disposing of the matter but will hear it every two weeks to ensure compliance,” Justice Kant said.
Senior advocate Arunabh Choudhary, appearing for the Jharkhand government, informed the court that the appointment process had been delayed due to the absence of a Leader of Opposition in the Assembly but has now begun. He assured that all vacant positions would be filled expeditiously.
The issue of vacancies in the CIC and SICs has been pending before the Supreme Court for years.
In its January 7 order, the apex court had directed the Centre to fill all vacant posts immediately and criticised the tendency to appoint only bureaucrats, saying people from diverse professional backgrounds should be considered.
In its 2019 judgment, the court had issued clear directions for timely appointments and for publication of details of the selection process, including the names of members of the selection committee.
Despite these orders, many states — including Jharkhand, Tripura, and Telangana — continue to have nearly defunct information commissions.
The matter will be heard again in two weeks.
