Supreme Court Issues Notice In Plea Seeking For Filling Of Vacancies In Jharkhand State Information Commission

A Bench of Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Surya Kant heard the submissions of Advocate Tishampati Sen, who appeared on behalf of the Petitioner, and proceeded to issue notice.

The PIL submits that it has been filed to seek effective implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2005. It states that the post of Chief State Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioner have been lying vacant, with the last acting Chief State Information Commissioner having retired in May 2020.

Due to this vacancy, it is contended that the purpose and spirit of the RTI Act is defeated as it is the duty of the designated statutory authority to decide appeals and complaints against public authorities for non-compliance with the RTI law.

Further, the plea argues that no effective effort has been made on behalf of the State of Jharkhand to fill these vacancies. In fact, 7669 appeals and 71 complaints are pending before the SIC of Jharkhand as per an RTI received from the SIC itself.

It has also been emphasised that despite the Apex Court having passed directions to the Central and the State Government to ensure timely appointment of the Information Commissioners, the same has not been complied in true letter and spirit.

In light of the above, the plea seeks for directions to fill the vacancies at the Jharkhand SIC.