RTI : Supreme Court Adjourns To Jan 2022 Case Related To Vacancies In Information Commissions

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to the second week of January 2022 the hearing of the plea filed by RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj seeking compliance on the part of the Central Government with respect to the directions issued by the Supreme Court in its judgment delivered in February 2019 as regards the posts and vacancies in the Central Information Commission (CIC). The Court granted the request for adjournment on the request of Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing on behalf of the petitioner. 

A division bench comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari also granted a further time of 4 weeks to the State of Karnataka to file its status report regarding the current vacancies in its State Information Commission (SIC). On August 8, 2021 the State of Karnataka had apprised the bench that 8 out of 11 posts in the SIC had been filled and advertisements for the rest 3 vacancies had been published. 

The Bench on August 18, 2021 had also directed all the States to file status reports indicating the vacancy positions and pendency of appeals in the State Information Commissions.

In the instant case, the petitioner had submitted that the Central Government was in grave non-compliance of the directions of the Apex Court. Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for the petitioner had submitted on an earlier date of hearing, 

"There are 3 issues:

1. With respect to filling up vacancies. They say that there are 10 vacancies & they say up to 7 are okay. 3 orders of this court say that all 11 vacancies need to be filled.

2. They were asked to notify the shortlisting criteria. They haven't done that. 

3. There was a journalist who was appointed; just because he is a journalist who echoes whatever the government does, doesn't mean that they'll appoint him to the post."

The petition had further referred to the non-compliance by the Central Government of the Order dated 16th December, 2019, wherein the Supreme Court had given three months to the Centre to fill the vacancies that existed in the CIC. The plea further underlines the failure of the State Governments to comply with the directions of the Supreme Court rendered in judgment dated February 2, 2019 and  further avers as  to how State Information Commission of Maharashtra is functioning with only 5 Commissioners when there is a backlog of nearly 60,000 appeals/complaints.

Case Title: Anjali Bhardwaj and others v. Union of India and others, M.A 1979/2019 in WP(c) 436.2018

Click Here To Read/Download The Order