As the Right to Information (RTI) Act marks its 20th anniversary on October 12, 2025, a new study reveals a concerning reality: significant delays plague 18 of the 29 information commissions across India, including the Central Information Commission (CIC). This critical transparency law, designed to empower citizens with access to government information, faces serious challenges that threaten its effectiveness.
The study, a "report card" on the performance of information commissions, highlights that these 18 commissions are facing waiting times of over a year for appeals filed under the RTI Act. In some cases, the delays are far more extreme. For instance, an appeal filed with the Telangana State Information Commission (SIC) on July 1, 2025, is projected to be heard in approximately 29 years, around 2054. Similarly, the SIC of Tripura is estimated to take 23 years, while Chhattisgarh's SIC may take 11 years to resolve a case. Madhya Pradesh and Punjab are also facing significant delays, with an estimated 7-year wait time.
These delays are primarily attributed to vacancies in the Information Commissions and a failure to appoint Information Commissioners in a timely manner. As of October 2025, the CIC is functioning without a Chief Information Commissioner, and the commissions in Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh are defunct, lacking even a single Information Commissioner to address complaints and appeals. The Supreme Court has previously criticized the chronic delays by the central and state governments in appointing Information Commissioners. The Court noted that the CIC has eight vacancies, resulting in over 23,000 pending appeals. Some State Information Commissions have been defunct since 2020, with some ceasing to accept petitions.
The consequences of these delays are severe. With over 4 lakh cases pending across India's information commissions, the very purpose of the RTI Act – to ensure transparency and accountability – is being undermined. Activist Anjali Bharadwaj notes that the large backlogs of appeals and complaints are causing inordinate delays in the disposal of cases, which render the law ineffective.
Further undermining the RTI Act's efficacy is the reluctance of Information Commissions to impose penalties on Information Officers who wrongly deny information. The RTI Act empowers commissions to penalize erring officers up to Rs 25,000 for violating the law. However, penalties are rarely imposed; between July 2024 and June 2025, penalties were levied in only 1,252 cases, totaling Rs 2.32 crore.
Adding to the challenges, a significant percentage of transparency panels are failing to meet their mandatory obligations under the RTI Act. Section 25 of the Act requires each commission to prepare an annual report on the implementation of the law and present it to the Parliament or state legislature. However, the study found that 69% of the commissions did not publish their annual reports for 2023-24.
The RTI Act, born from a grassroots movement in Rajasthan in the 1980s, has faced several challenges in its 20-year journey. A Supreme Court judgment and amendments to the Act have also weakened the law. The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act has been used to amend Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, potentially restricting access to information.
As the RTI Act reaches this milestone, concerns are growing about its future. Citizens and media are urged to discuss these threats and create public opinion to safeguard their right to information and their democracy. A museum on the law is being developed at Beawar to commemorate 20 years of RTI, documenting stories of how the right to information has empowered ordinary people and strengthened democracy across the country.
