Jharkhand High Court Puts State Government on the Spot Over Long-Vacant Information Commissioner Posts

Well, it looks like the Jharkhand High Court isn't mincing words anymore. They've really put the state government's feet to the fire regarding those stubbornly vacant Information Commissioner posts, and guess what? The government's finally promising some action. It's a significant development for transparency advocates and, frankly, anyone who believes in the Right to Information.

Just the other day, on March 22nd to be exact, the government confirmed in court that a crucial meeting actually took place. This was where they reportedly ironed out the final names for these much-needed positions. The Advocate General, representing the state, told the bench, quite unequivocally, that a formal notification for these appointments would be hitting the wires 'soon.' We'll see, won't we? The next hearing is slated for April 7th, giving the government a short window to deliver on its promise.

This whole saga, you see, stems from a Public Interest Litigation, or PIL, filed by social activist Sunil Kumar Dubey. He's been rightly concerned about the sheer lack of proper oversight in the state's information commission, a critical body for our right to know. It’s not just one or two posts either; the Chief Information Commissioner's chair has been empty since December 2020, and four other Information Commissioners' spots have been vacant since August and November of 2021. That’s a long, long time to be running on fumes.

Think about it: all those Right to Information applications, the very bedrock of transparency, are essentially stuck in limbo, piling up because there's hardly anyone to process them. This isn't a new problem; the court had already expressed its significant displeasure back in January, demanding answers for the snail's pace. They even asked for an affidavit detailing why the appointments were taking so long, especially after a selection committee had supposedly met way back in September 2022 and recommended names. The Governor's approval, it seemed, was the final hurdle that somehow never got cleared.

So, here we are. The court’s given the government a bit of breathing room, and frankly, a bit of a final warning. Everyone's hoping this 'soon' translates into actual appointments, bringing some much-needed life back into the information commission. It’s high time the people of Jharkhand had a fully functional mechanism to hold their government accountable. The next chapter in this unfolding story? April 7th, when the court convenes again. Fingers crossed for some genuine progress.