Vacancies in Information Commissioner posts undermining RTI Act: Supreme Court

He highlighted that in Chhattisgarh, the SIC is functioning with a single commissioner despite pendency of nearly 35,000 appeals and complaints. Similarly, in Maharashtra, the SIC is functioning with eight commissioners. while three posts are lying vacant and the backlog of cases is nearly 1 lakh, Bhushan pointed out.In Tamil Nadu, the government has sanctioned only seven posts of commissioners even though the SIC has among the largest backlogs in the country at 41,000, he said. In Madhya Pradesh, the SIC is functioning with four commissioners. while 20,000 matters are pending, he added.In several other states also, despite large backlogs, several posts of commissioners are lying vacant. It was highlighted that governments are completely undermining peoples’ Right to Information by not appointing information commissioners in a timely and transparent manner, leading to buildup of large backlogs and long delays of more than one year in the disposal of appeals and complaints. The issue of ensuring transparency in the appointment process as laid down in the Anjali Bhardwaj judgment of 2019 was also highlighted.The lawyer added that since the last hearing on October 27, 2025, the Karnataka government has filled all the vacancies in the commission and the SIC is now functioning at its full strength of 11 commissioners.The counsel for the Union of India stated that the selection committee meeting will be held at the earliest and the appointment process will be completed.



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