Challenges in Information Commissions

Why in News?

Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) slammed the delay shown by the Centre and States in appointing Information Commissioners.

• Issues in CIC – Central Information Commission (CIC) has 8 vacancies in the posts of the Information Commissioners.
• It has 23,000 pending appeals filed by citizens seeking information from various government departments.
• Issues in State IC – Several Information Commissions in States have been defunct since 2020.

In Jharkhand, the lack of a Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Vidhan Sabha was delaying appointments to the State Information Commission, which had been lying defunct since 2020 with over 8,000 appeals pending.

For State Information Commission, the Appointments Committee will be headed by the Chief Minister. Other members include the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and one Cabinet Minister nominated by the Chief Minister.

• Some have stopped accepting petitions under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
• Supreme Court Direction – It directed the Department of Personnel and Training to file an affidavit in 2 weeks specifying timelines
  • For completion of the selection process
  • For the selection committee to finalise its recommendations
  • For the notification of the appointments of the 8 Information Commissioners to the CIC.
• It also directed them to disclose the constitution of the search committee & a list of the candidates who had applied for the posts.

Central Information Commission

• It is a statutory authority.
• Established in – 2005, under Section-12 of RTI Act of 2005.
• Objectives
  • To receive and inquire into complaints from any person.
  • To receive and decide upon the 2^nd appeals from any citizen.
  • To perform the duty of Monitoring and Reporting.

• Powers – It has the same powers vested in a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

References

1. The Hindu| Challenges in Information Commissions
2. CIC| Central Information Commission (CIC)

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RTI and Information Commissions