The Supreme Court on Monday took serious note of vacancies in the Central Information Commission (CIC) as well as State Information Commissions (SICs) and asked the Centre and state governments to make efforts to fill the posts, warning that the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 will become 'a dead letter'.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to collect information from all states on aspects including the sanctioned strength of information commissioners in the SICs, vacancies at present and the total number of pending cases there.
"The Right to Information Act of 2005 will become a dead letter," said CJI Chandrachud. The submissions were filed by senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj and said that the SICs had become defunct due to the absence of serving information commissioners.
The three-judge bench observed that the large number of vacancies would defeat "the underlying spirit and express orders" of the court. They also pointed out that only four information commissioners are working at the CIC with seven vacant positions.
SC's judgement on timely filling up of vacancies
The SC bench also directed the DoPT to collate information from all states and file a status report, including on the aspect of steps being taken to fill the vacancies in SICs. It also asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to assist the bench in dealing with the matter and asked the list to be provided after three weeks.
The Supreme Court had directed the Centre and state governments in December 2019 to appoint information commissioners within three months at the CIC and SICs, observing there was a need to evolve guidelines to stop misuse of the Right to Information Act.
It further ordered the concerned authorities to put the names of the members of the search committee, which was meant for the selection of information commissioners at the CIC, on their website. The matter was addressed after a similar submission by Bhushan, who said that the Centre and different states had not complied with the apex court's judgement on February 15, 2019, to appoint information commissioners in the CIC and SICs within 1-6 months.
"We direct the Centre and the states to conclude the appointment within three months," the bench had said, cautioning the authorities that a contempt petition may be filed if its order is not complied with. It had also highlighted the importance of the exercise being conducted in a transparent manner.
On Monday, Bhushan highlighted the seven vacancies in the CIC and the absence of a Central Information Commissioner, further saying that the four serving Information Commissioners (ICs) will demit office in the coming months.
Bhardwaj, in her application, claimed the Centre and states have not followed the apex court’s 2019 judgement on issues including timely filling up of vacancies at the CIC and SICs.
(with PTI inputs)
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