After High Court Rebuke, Jharkhand Govt Assures Revival of Information Commission Within Four Weeks

Ranchi- Following a sharp reprimand from the Jharkhand High Court, the state government on Thursday assured that the State Information Commission, which has been non-functional for nearly five years, will be fully operational within four weeks.

During a hearing before a division bench comprising Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice A.K. Rai, Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan informed the court that concrete steps are being taken to revive the commission and that it would start functioning within the stipulated timeframe.

Chief Secretary Avinash Kumar and the Secretary of the Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Official Language Department were present in court, complying with earlier directions issued by the bench.

In a previous hearing, the High Court had warned that contempt proceedings could be initiated against responsible officials if the commission was not activated without delay. The court had also directed the Chief Secretary and the Personnel Secretary to appear in person, noting that despite its December 12, 2025 order, no tangible progress had been made.

After hearing the submissions on Thursday, the bench granted the state government four weeks to ensure the commission becomes functional.

Counsel for the petitioner highlighted that the State Information Commission has remained defunct for almost five years, with the posts of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners lying vacant. This, he argued, has deprived citizens of a statutory forum to file appeals under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

The prolonged inaction has forced information seekers to directly approach the High Court, adding to its burden, the petitioner’s counsel submitted.

Advocate Vikas Kumar appeared for the petitioner, Virendra Singh, who had sought information under the RTI Act but did not receive a response within the mandated 30-day period. Even after filing a first appeal, the concerned department failed to provide the information.

With no functional State Information Commission to hear a second appeal, Singh approached the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.

With nputs from IANS