Skip to main content

Right to Information cases pile up, vacancies in Information Commissions rise across India


By Venkatesh Nayak*
Readers will remember our previous efforts to collate data about the use of RTI laws and the working of Information Commissions across India. This year, we mark the 25th anniversary of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative’s (CHRI’s) work in India by releasing the Rapid Review 4.0 (previously named Rapid Study) of the State of Information Commissions and Use of RTI Laws across India. The full report of our Rapid Review 4.0 (click HERE) was released at the Open Consultation on the Future of RTI: Challenges and Opportunities that we held at New Delhi on March 13. Our major findings are given below:
  • State of Information CommissionsHeadless and non-existent SICs: There is no State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC) in Gujarat since mid-January 2018. Maharashtra SIC is headed by an acting SCIC since June 2017. There is no Information Commission in Andhra Pradesh (after Telangana was carved out in June 2014). The State Government has assured the Hyderabad High Court that it will set up an SIC soon;
  • Vacancies at an all-time high: More than 25% (109) of the 146 posts in the Information Commissions, are lying vacant. In 2015, against 142 posts created 111 Information Commissioners (including Chief Information Commissioners) were working across the country.
  • Large-sized SICs have huge pendency also: 47% of the serving Chief Information Commissioners and ICs are situated in seven States, namely, Haryana (11), Karnataka, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (9 each), Central Information Commission, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu (7 each). Six of these Commissions are saddled with 72% of the pending appeals and complaints across the country (pendency data is not available for Tamil Nadu, yet);
  • Bias towards bureaucrats in appointments has grown: 90% of the Information Commissions are headed by retired civil servants. More than 43% of the Information Commissioners are from civil services background. This is the trend despite the Supreme Court’s directive in 2013 to identify candidates in other fields of specialisation mentioned in the RTI Act for appointment;
  • Fewer Women ICs: Only 8.25% of the serving SCICs and ICs are women. There are only 9 women in all the Information Commissions put together. Three of them are retired civil servants;
  • Websites missing and Annual Reports not published: The websites of SICs of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar cannot be detected on any Internet browser. The SICs of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have not published any annual report so far. Jharkhand and Kerala SICs each have six pending annual reports. Punjab has five and Andhra Pradesh, four pending reports;
  • Pendency has increased: According to data accessed from 19 Information Commissions, there are 1.93 lakh pending second appeal and complaint cases (as compared to 1.10 lakh cases that were pending across 14 ICs in 2015). Top five ICs accounting for 77% of the overall pendency are: Maharashtra (41,537), Uttar Pradesh (40,248), Karnataka (29,291), Central Information Commission (23,989) and Kerala (14,253 cases). Pendency in Bihar, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu among others is not known publicly; and
  • Mizoram SIC received and decided only one appeal case in 2016-17. SICs of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya have no pendency at all.

Use of RTI Laws in IndiaRTI applications – annual figures: 

  • Between 2015-17, during a 12-month period, about 24.33 lakh RTI applications had been filed across the Central and 14 State Governments. It is not possible to get more accurate figures in the absence of annual reports from several ICs. By a process of extrapolation it may be conservatively estimated that up to 50 lakh/5 million RTI applications would have have been submitted by citizens during the same period;
  • RTI applications – over 12 years: Between 2005–2017, ICs reported that 2.14 crore/21.4 million RTI applications were filed across the country. If data is published by all ICs, this figure may actually touch 3-3.5 crores/33-35 million (conservative estimate). Less than 0.5% of the population seems to have used RTI since its operationalisation;
  • Biggest grossers – over 12 years: Despite the absence of their latest annual reports, the Central Government (57.43 lakhs/5.74 million) and the State Governments of Maharashtra (54.95 lakhs/5.49 million) and Karnataka (20.73 lakhs/2.07 million) continue to top the list of jurisdictions receiving the most number of information requests. Gujarat (9.86 lakhs) recorded more RTI applications than neighbouring Rajasthan (8.55 lakhs) where the demand for an RTI law emerged from the grass roots. Despite having much lower levels of literacy, Chhattisgarh (6.02 lakh) logged more RTI applications than the 100% literate Kerala (5.73 lakhs). Despite being much smaller sized States, Himachal Pradesh (4.24 lakhs), Punjab (3.60 lakhs) and Haryana (3.32 lakhs) registered more RTI applications each than the geographically bigger State of Odisha (2.85 lakhs);
  • Less frequent use of RTI – over 12 years: Manipur recorded the lowest figures for RTI use at 1,425 information requests between 2005-2017. The SIC did not publish any annual report between 2005 and 2011 and is yet to release the report for 2016-17;
  • RTI applications: rising trend – over 12 years: Seven jurisdictions, namely, the Central Government and the States of Andhra Pradesh (undivided), Assam, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala and Uttarakhand have recorded an uninterrupted trend of increase in the number of RTI applications received;
  • RTI applications: declining trend – over 12 years: Five States- Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Sikkim, Nagaland and Tripura have reported a decline in the number of RTI applications received in recent years. The reasons for the drop in numbers requires probing urgently; and
  • RTI applications: mixed trend – over 12 years: Seven States, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Meghalaya, Gujarat, Mizoram, Odisha and West Bengal have recorded a mixed trend where the RTI application figures have fluctuated over the years. After seesawing in the initial years, Arunachal Pradesh has reported a more than 82% decline in the number of RTI applications received in 2015 against the peak reached in 2014. Mizoram’s figures also show a declining trend of 23% in 2016-17 after the peak scaled during the previous year. West Bengal’s figures rose and dipped to less than 62% of the peak reached in 2010 but a rising trend has been reported in 2015.
—
*Programme Coordinator, Access to Information Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup*  I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.
Post a Comment
»

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra  International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars. 
Post a Comment
»

Dhurandhar: The Revenge — Blurring the line between fiction and political narrative

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan*  "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" does not wait to be remembered; it arrives almost on the heels of its predecessor, released on March 19, 2026, just months after the first film’s December 2025 debut. The speed of its arrival feels less like creative urgency and more like calculated timing—cinema responding not to storytelling rhythm but to the emotional climate of its audience. Director Aditya Dhar, along with actor Yami Gautam, appears acutely aware of this moment and how to harness it.
Post a Comment
»

BJP accounts for 99% of political donations in Gujarat: Corporate giants dominate

By Jag Jivan   An analysis of the official data on donations received by national parties from Gujarat during the Financial Year 2024-25 reveals a staggering concentration of funding, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accounting for nearly the entirety of the contributions. The data, compiled in a document titled "National Parties donations received from Gujarat during FY-2024-25," lists thousands of transactions, painting a detailed picture of the financial backing for political parties from one of India’s most industrially significant states.
1 comment
»

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan   In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.
Post a Comment
»

Alarming decline in India's repair culture threatens circular economy goals: Study

By Jag Jivan  A comprehensive new study by environmental research and advocacy organisation Toxics Link has painted a worrying picture of India's fading repair culture, warning that the trend towards replacement over repair is accelerating the country's already critical e-waste crisis.
1 comment
»

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.
59 comments
»

Captains extraordinaire: Ranking cricket’s most influential skippers

By Harsh Thakor*  Ranking the greatest cricket captains is a subjective exercise, often sparking passionate debate among fans. The following list is not merely a tally of wins and losses; it is an assessment of leadership’s deeper impact. My criteria fuse a captain’s playing record with their tactical skill, placing the highest consideration on their ability to reshape a team’s fortunes and inspire those around them. A captain who inherited a dominant empire is judged differently from one who resurrected a nation’s cricket from the doldrums. With that in mind, here is my perspective on the finest leaders the game has ever seen.
Post a Comment
»

‘No merit’ in Chakraborty’s claims: Personal ethics talk sans details raises questions

By Jag Jivan  A recent opinion piece published in The Quint by Subhash Chandra Garg has raised questions over the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Atanu Chakraborty from HDFC Bank , with Garg stating that the exit “raises doubts about his own ‘ethics’.” Garg, currently Chief Policy Advisor at Subhanjali and former Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, writes that the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) appears to find no substance in Chakraborty’s claims, noting, “It is clear the RBI sees no merit in Atanu Chakraborty’s wild and vague assertions.”
Post a Comment
»