Number of Information Commissions hearing cases drops in July compared to June: Survey

The number of Information Commissions hearing RTI appeals has dropped in July considerably compared to June though the more and more facilities have been opened up under Unlock 2.0 guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The analysis by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a private rights watchdog, showed that only 13 State Information Commissions out of 29 were holding hearings in July as against 23 in June when Unlock 1.0 was on.

The CHRI had conducted three rapid surveys on the functioning of Information Commissions and its latest study showed that 80% Information Commissions were open in June during Unlock 1.0 but it dropped to 44% during Unlock 2.0.

"This shows that most of the Information Commissions across the states could not put sustainable efforts to perform their role as champions of transparency during lockdowns in their states," the CHRI analysis said. In its second survey during Lockdown 3.0 that ended on May 17, only 12 SICs were open out of which only eight were holding hearings.

Last month, 16 Information Commissions were not holding hearings and it included Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. Among the 16, only seven, including Karnataka, have put up notice on their website regarding adjournment of all hearings.

The survey said during Unlock 1.0 in June, the CHRI reached out to the office of 11 SICs because information about their working was not available on their websites. Out of these, phone calls made to the office of SIC of Assam, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura remained unanswered. During Unlock 2.0, phone calls made to the office of SIC of Assam, Manipur and Tamil Nadu remained unanswered.

It also said six SICs -- Bihar, Goa, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh -- are headless for several months. In Jharkhand, there is no Information Commissioner for conducting hearings. The SICs of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh do not have functional websites.

In its findings on the SIC of Karnataka, it said no update was available on its website about the status of hearings during Unlock 1.0. It said the SIC was uploading cause lists and decisions on its website since June, which showed it was working during this phase.

Quoting an RTI activist in Bengaluru, the CHRI report said all the Information Commissioners had started holding hearings in person but parties were not appearing due to restrictions imposed by the government.

During Unlock 2.0 in July, the report said the SIC website said that due to unavoidable reasons the 2nd appeal cases listed for hearing from July 27 to 31 have been postponed and the next date of hearings will be advertised later. However older Cause Lists continue to be displayed on the SIC website.

"The challenges posed by the spread of Covid-19 have acted as brakes on the regime of transparency established by the RTI Act...The State Information Commissions need to address the dilemma between staying open and risking the spread of Covid-19 infection; and remaining closed and not promoting RTI. As the role of Information Commissions during public emergencies is crucial, hearings shall be conducted virtually using smart phone apps or using ordinary phones until in-person hearings are not suitable," it said.