RTI Completes 19 Years: Four State Commissions Defunct, Appeals Remain Stalled

The Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) has reported that four State Information Commissions (SICs) are now completely “defunct,” lacking commissioners to hear appeals under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.

As a result, RTI appeals in four states—Jharkhand, Tripura, Telangana, and Goa—cannot proceed until new commissioners are appointed.

Jharkhand’s SIC has remained non-functional for four years, despite repeated calls for appointments, including mentions in the Supreme Court.

Tripura’s commission has been inactive for three years, while Telangana’s has not operated for 19 months. Goa’s SIC became defunct in March after the Chief Information Commissioner retired.

Severe backlogs plague both the Central Information Commission (CIC) and various SICs, leading to significant delays in hearing appeals. Maharashtra tops the list with 1,08,641 pending cases.

Even the CIC, despite having commissioners in place, faces a backlog so large that the waiting time for a hearing stretches to one year and four months.