NEW DELHI: As the Right to Information Act, 2005, marks its 19th anniversary this Saturday, a report card reveals a troubling rise in the backlog of appeals and complaints, with over 4 lakh cases piling up across 29 information commissions (IC) nationwide as of June 30.
The growing pendency, highlighted in a report by civil society group Satark Nagrik Sangathan led by transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj, underscores the increasing delays in citizens’ access to information, with many commissions facing waits of over a year to resolve cases.
The report shows that as of March 31, 2019, a total of 2,18,347 cases were pending in 26 ICs from which data was obtained. The number crossed 3 lakh in June 2022. This year the backlog was 4,05,509.
Meanwhile, 2,31,417 appeals and complaints were registered between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024 by 27 ICs. During the same time period, 2,25,929 cases were disposed by 28 commissions.
The report also draws attention to a worrisome fact that seven information commissions – Jharkhand, Telangana, Goa, Tripura, MP, UP and Chhattisgarh were defunct for varying periods in the past year. Of these, four commissions – Jharkhand, Telangana, Goa and Tripura – continue to be defunct.
Even the Central Information Commission has been working with only three commissioners, including the chief for nearly one year. The report draws attention to the backlog of appeals and complaints in CIC which stood at 22,774 cases as of June 30.
“Maharashtra SIC with a backlog of 1,08,641 had highest number of appeals and complaints pending. This was followed by Karnataka (50,000); Tamil Nadu (41,241); Chhattisgarh (25,317),” it highlighted.
“The delays in disposal of cases can be attributed largely to two factors – vacancies in commissions and tardy rate of disposal by commissioners,” the report states.