One of the key statutory organizations under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the Jharkhand Information Commission is likely to come into existence within the next four weeks after operating without according to the new Act for almost five years. The state government promised the Jharkhand High Court in one of the recent hearings that the leadership of the commission had been long overdue, and therefore, affected the right of citizens to information.
As of 2020, the commission is technically stalled by empty posts, such as the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners. This has left thousands of second appeals by RTI applicants pending. In the RTI method, citizens have access to the information of the public authorities and, in case of dissatisfaction with the answer, the case may be referred to the State Information Commission. The applicants have no vital appellate court with the Jharkhand commission, which is inactive.
In the course of the court proceedings, the top government officials, such as the Chief Secretary and the Secretary of the Personnel department, appeared in person in the court and told the bench that every effort was being made to fill in the gaps and resume the operations of the commission. The High Court instructed the state to make sure that the process is fulfilled within four weeks and threatened possible contempt action in an instance of further delays.
The legal observers observe that the commission has been absent, and thus some of the applicants have resorted to going directly to the High Court, which puts additional strain on the judiciary and defeats the objective of the RTI Act, which does not place the applicant in an elaborate and cumbersome information redressal. Transparency lobbyists have also raised an objection that the long vacancy has undermined the trust of the people in the state to hold it accountable.
The state government has reported that the appointment procedure to appoint the commissioners is being done; this involves the establishment of a selection committee and vetting of qualified candidates. As soon as the appointment is made, the commission should start clearing up the backlog of pending appeals and complaints.
The same case in Jharkhand is just a part of a wider problem in the country, with a number of states experiencing lag in the appointment of information commissioners, with their appointment causing similar havoc. But the action has been given a new dimension with the intervention of the High Court in Jharkhand, and a time limit has been given on the matter.
The reinstatement of the Jharkhand Information Commission will probably provide people with an essential avenue of questioning the public authorities and demanding transparency and accountability, which will help to strengthen the main principles of the RTI Act in the state, as long as the government fulfils the deadline set by the court.
