The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, issued a directive for the immediate filling of longstanding vacancies in the Central Information Commission (CIC) and state information commissions, criticizing the government for the lack of diversity in appointments. Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh highlighted the urgency of staffing these essential bodies to ensure the functionality of the Right to Information (RTI) framework.
During the proceedings, Justice Surya Kant remarked on the homogeneity of the current commissions, which are predominantly filled by bureaucrats, stating, “We can take judicial notice of the fact that entire commissions are loaded with only one category of people. Why should only bureaucrats be appointed and why not people from different walks of life?”
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing petitioner Anjali Bhardwaj among others, pointed out that despite the Supreme Court’s 2019 directive to expedite the appointment process, the states had delayed, undermining the effectiveness of the RTI Act. Bhushan emphasized that these vacancies have significantly hindered the public’s ability to obtain information, defeating the purpose of the RTI Act.
The bench has now ordered the Centre to submit a status report detailing the selection process initiated in August 2024, and to clarify the timeline for its completion. Furthermore, the court has requested the joint secretary at the Department of Personnel and Training to provide an affidavit outlining the processing of applications from 161 candidates for the position of information commissioners.
In a move to address non-compliance, the court has specifically called out Jharkhand for not appointing information commissioners, citing the absence of a leader of the opposition in the Vidhan Sabha as the reason. The bench directed the largest opposition party in the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha to nominate a member to the selection committee, to facilitate the appointment process.
Moreover, the court instructed other states with vacancies to notify the list of applicants, disclose the selection committee’s composition, the criteria for shortlisting candidates, and the timeline for conducting interviews and appointments, all within a week.
The chief secretaries of the states have been directed to provide detailed information on the vacancies and to submit compliance affidavits regarding appointments made. The court emphasized that states where appointments have been completed must submit affidavits detailing the list of candidates who applied, the composition of the search committee, the criteria adopted for shortlisting, and the appointment notifications.
