RTI, save it from 'democraxtinction'

On Monday, the Supreme Court lamented that the Right To Information (RTI) Act 2005 is becoming a ‘dead letter law’. This, after the bench was told that of the 11 posts of information commissioners (ICs) in the Central Information Commission, seven are vacant. The four incumbents will retire in November. The state commissions are in worse shape. The Jharkhand State Information Commission, for instance, has stopped functioning since 2020, with all posts of ICs vacant. Under RTI law, ICs are the final appellate authority mandated to facilitate people’s RTI.

It is unfortunate that the progressive law has moved from the endangered species to nearly extinct category in a country that prides itself as a thriving democracy. Just holding impeccable elections doth not a salutary democracy make. The popularity and importance of the right to a piece of information can be estimated from the fact that 4-6 million RTI applications are filed every year, and has been used to hold local governments accountable for lapses in the delivery of services and secure access to basic rights and entitlements. This robust interaction between citizens and the state only deepened and strengthened democracy.

But, today, the large backlog and backslide of applications, vacancies and bureaucratic sloth, not to mention threats against RTI applicants, are crippling the system. In August, old RTI applications had reportedly vanished from the central portal. Thankfully, they were found and restored. Experts have raised concerns that the new Digital Personal Data Protection Bill will forbid citizens from seeking information. It is evident that there is very little interest within government and bureaucracy to ensure RTI gains in strength. Given this sad state, citizens and activists should keep up the good fight.