The Supreme Court has ordered the filling of vacant positions in the Central Information Commission and several State Information Commissions, Bar and Bench reported on Thursday.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan on November 26, said that eight posts in the Central Information Commission are vacant according to a November 11 status report, with only three information commissioners currently in service.
Additional Solicitor General Brijender Chahar was directed by the bench to file a status report within two weeks on steps taken to fill the vacant posts.
The directions were issued on a public interest litigation filed by a Right to Information activist, among others, about the vacancies in the Central Information Commission and several State Information Commissions.
The court noted that posts in State Information Commissions are also vacant, including seven in Maharashtra, eight in Karnataka, two in Chhattisgarh, one in Bihar, four in West Bengal, five in Odisha and two in Tamil Nadu.
In Jharkhand, Telangana and Tripura, the State Information Commissions have been “lying defunct for the last several years, as no fresh appointments have been made therein”, the court said, adding that it had pointed to this in its order in November 2023.
The states were also directed by the court to file a status report within two weeks, detailing the timeline for filling the vacant posts.
“They shall also undertake the time within which the selection process will be initiated and the vacant posts will be filled-up,” the bench added. “The needful shall be done within two weeks.”
The court issued the directions after Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioners, informed the court about the vacancies based on a November 11 report.
The matter will be heard next on December 17.
The Supreme Court had previously issued similar directions in a plea filed by the same litigants in 2023, saying that keeping the posts vacant would undermine the purpose of the Right to Information Act.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!