
HYDERABAD: The Right to Information (RTI) appeals are piling up as all state information commissioner posts, including that of the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), have remained vacant for the last two years since February 2024.
According to information provided in response to an RTI application filed by Vakrala Rohith, convener of a youth-run NGO, Council for Transforming India, 10,688 appeals were pending before the commission as of December 28, 2024. Though there is no specific time limit for disposing of appeals, the backlog and delay in addressing them have raised concerns among RTI activists.
As per the RTI Act, 2005, the state information commission consists of one chief information commissioner and up to 10 information commissioners.
Buddha Murali, who served as CIC on full additional charge, demitted office in September 2022, and no successor has been appointed since. Similarly, information commissioners Katta Shekar Reddy, Guguloth Shankar Naik, Syed Khaleelullah, Myda Narayan Reddy and Mohd Ameer demitted office in February 2023, and the government has not appointed replacements.
The government is the competent authority to appoint the commissioners. It invited applications for the posts of CIC and information commissioners in July 2023 and June 2024, receiving over 200 applications. However, no decision has been made to fill the vacant positions.
Activist: Delay in appointments in contravention of apex court order
Taking serious note of the delay in appointing information commissioners, the SC, on January 7, directed state governments, including Telangana, to expedite the appointment process. Speaking to TNIE, Rohith said the state government appears unwilling to appoint commissioners despite the large number of pending appeals, which he termed a violation of the spirit of the RTI Act. He added, “Despite the SC’s directives, the state government is delaying the appointments. I urge the state government to appoint commissioners as soon as possible.”