No information commissioners in state, HC seeks govt reply

Jabalpur: Madhya Pradesh high court has issued a notice to the state govt regarding the appointment against vacant posts of state information commissioners and sought a reply within three weeks.The Madhya Pradesh state information commission has 10 sanctioned posts for information commissioners, but all positions are vacant.A single bench of Justice Vishal Dhagat, issued the notice while hearing a petition by Advocate Vishal Baghel, a resident of Jabalpur.Baghel filed a petition in the High Court stating that he had submitted an online application under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, to the ministry of health at Vallabh Bhavan. In this application, he requested a copy of the investigation report conducted by the divisional commissioner's committee regarding the New Life Hospital fire incident in Jabalpur.The ministry did not provide any information in response to Vishal Baghel's RTI application, prompting him to file a first appeal under Section 19 of the Act to a senior officer. However, the authorities did not hear the first appeal either, leading him to file a second appeal with the state information commission on Sept 21, 2023.Almost a year has passed but Baghel's appeal remains unresolved, despite the MP Right to Information Fee and Appeal Rules mandating that the second appeal be resolved within 180 days.The petitioner argued in the High Court that his appeal is not being resolved as the post of commissioners in the Madhya Pradesh state information commission is vacant. The commission has been non-functional for the past five months due to the absence of any information commissioners, causing distress to appellants and resulting in thousands of pending appeals.The High Court issued a notice to the state govt, directing them to present a response within three weeks. The next hearing is scheduled for Sept 23.The Madhya Pradesh state information commission has 10 sanctioned posts for information commissioners, but all positions are vacant following the retirement of the appointed commissioners. The general administration department has issued advertisements three times in the past three years inviting applications for these posts, but no appointments have been made, rendering the commission non-functional.According to Section 15 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, the appointment of state information commissioners is made by a committee headed by the chief minister, which includes the leader of the opposition, and another cabinet minister nominated by the CM.