Over 16,000 RTI appeals pending due to Telangana government’s inaction
State ignores High Court directive; 12 State Information Commissioner posts, including that of Chief Information Commissioner, vacant
Khammam: More than 16,000 appeals and complaints made under the Right to Information (RTI) Act are pending across Telangana as 12 State Information Commissioner posts, including that of the Chief Information Commissioner, are vacant due to the State government’s inaction.
The government, which issued a notification on June 11, 2024 calling for appointments to the posts of CIC and SICs in the State Information Commission failed to initiate the process to fill up the posts.
A resident of Khammam, Koyinni Venkanna filed a writ petition number 9947 of 2025 in the Telangana High Court challenging authorities’ inaction in processing applications. Justice K Lakshman while disposing of the writ petition issued an order on April 2 directing the government to consider the petitioner’s application dated June 17, 2024 for the Information Commissioner post within a timeline in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines.
Advocate Nallapu Manideep, who represented the petitioner, contended that continued inaction on the part of the government not only violated the mandatory directions of the Supreme Court in WP (C) No. 436 of 2018 and MA No. 1979 of 2019. In the above case, the Supreme Court held that most of the States have initiated the selection process to fill up the vacancies, but without any commitment regarding the timeline within which the appointments should be made and prescribed a timeline for the States to follow in making the appointments.
Speaking to Telangana Today, Manideep stated that the delay in appointing Information Commissioners rendered the functioning of the State Information Commission virtually defunct, thereby affecting the fundamental right of citizens to access information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
A Public Interest Litigation WP (PIL) No. 18 of 2023 had already been disposed of by a Division Bench on January 29 based on the State’s assurance to comply with the Apex Court’s guidelines. However, no appointments have since been made, prompting the petitioner to seek judicial intervention, Manideep explained.
The High Court judgment was a significant step toward restoring transparency and accountability in public administration, as the Right to Information regime in Telangana was under severe strain due to institutional vacancies and rising pendency, he added.
