The ‘Report Card of Information Commissions’ shows alarming backlogs in information bodies across the country and persistent delays in the appointment of commissioners
NEW DELHI – Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan Lokur has warned that the Data Protection Act will provide a shield for corruption. Releasing the Report Card of Information Commissions at a public meeting at the Constitution Club here on Friday, Justice Lokur also accused the government of systematically undermining the RTI Act.
Former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah also said that the government was repeatedly diluting the RTI law.
The Satark Nagrik Sangathan, a citizens’ vigilante group, prepared the Report Card of Information Commissions, which documents how information commissions – the highest appellate bodies under the RTI Act are performing across the country.
Key highlights of the report include:
• Seven out of 29 Information Commissions were defunct for varying periods between July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Two commissions continue to be defunct at present.
• More than 4 lakh cases are pending in information commissions across India
• 14 commissions have an estimated waiting time of more than 1 year to dispose of a matter
• Five commissions were functioning without a chief as of October 2024
• Several ICs were found to be returning a very large number of cases without passing any orders. The CIC returned 42% of the appeals/complaints it received.
• Lack of diversity among commissioners – 57% retired government officials and only 9% women. None of the information commissions is headed by a woman.
During the public meeting, several people spoke of how important and empowering the RTI Act has been for them.
Devaki, a resident of Dakshipuri, shared how the use of the RTI Act helped in securing pension and arrears for her niece, Madhu, who is an orphan and suffers from cerebral palsy. It was only after seeking information under the RTI Act that the department processed her pension application and started her pension payments but refused to pay arrears from the time of her application. Finally, when the matter reached the CIC, the commission ordered the department to pay her Rs 92,000 for the loss caused to her on account of the failure of the government to furnish relevant information, which led to the denial of pension for three years.
Several others also shared their experience of using the RTI Act to seek information on the delivery of basic rights and entitlements, ranging from widow pensions, access to education, rations and healthcare. Chandrawati, a resident of Lal Gumbad, who has a disability in both hands, spoke of the ordeal when her disability monthly pension of Rs 2,500 was suddenly stopped without any intimation. She ran from pillar to post and finally used the RTI Act to seek information. Her second appeal has been pending before the Central Information Commission for more than a year, with the hearing yet to happen.
Currently in the CIC, there are only 3 commissioners while 8 posts are vacant, even as the backlog of cases is around 25,000.
Justice Lokur said that governments were systematically undermining the RTI Act. Citing the vacancies in information commissions, he said governments had found a way of undermining the RTI Act by not making appointments, which resulted in increasing backlogs and long delays in the disposal of appeals and complaints.
He spoke of how in 2019, the government amended the RTI Act to weaken the autonomy of commissions and now the RTI Act has again been dealt a severe blow through amendments made through the Data Protection Act. He said that by exempting all personal information from disclosure under the RTI Act, the Data Protection Act will provide a shield for corruption.
Echoing Justice Lokur’s views, Wajahat Habibullah said that it was most unfortunate that, rather than strengthening the RTI Act and encouraging people to use the law, which ultimately results in improving governance, the government was repeatedly diluting the RTI law.
Praveer Peter from Jharkhand shared how the RTI law has been used in the state by people to access critical information related to mining and land records, which helped expose corruption and misuse of power. He said that the Jharkhand Information Commission has been defunct for the past five years as the opposition party has failed to appoint the leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly. This has rendered the law ineffective in the state, and thousands of appeals/complaints have remained unheard.
Economist Jayati Ghosh highlighted how access to information is crucial for people in holding the government accountable and accessing their basic rights. She said the Data Protection Act had been crafted in such a way that not only has it amended the RTI Act but by declaring all those who collect information, including academics, journalists, activists, and researchers, as data fiduciaries, the law will have a chilling impact on everyone.
Annie Raja said that the RTI Act has tremendously empowered women and that the government must not dilute the law in any way. She said the National Federation of Indian Women will join the campaign across the country against the weakening of the RTI Act.
Ashok Sharma highlighted that the Constitutional Conduct Group has also written against the amendments made to the RTI Act. He said the government has also understood the power of information and how it enabled people to seek accountability and that is why there is a pushback on people’s right to know.
Anjali Bhardwaj of SNS said people must unitedly raise their voice to protect the RTI Act. She highlighted the numerous ways in which the RTI Act was being undermined – from non-appointment of information commissioners to the amendments being made to weaken the provisions of the RTI Act.
