Chidambaram alleged that the Centre amended the RTI Act and changed the rules governing the conditions of service of Information Commissioners — all with the intention of crippling the role of the RTI Act. “The surest way to cause a death blow to the RTI Act is to not appoint Information Commissioners,” he said, adding that the vacancies hinder the smooth functioning of the information commissionThe SC also echoed similar sentiments. The Apex court observed that the 2005 law on the right to information would become a “dead letter” if no action were taken to fill vacant posts in SIC and CIC.“The Right to Information Act of 2005 will become a dead letter,” the CJI had said.Flagging the issue, the National Campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information (NCPRI) had written to PM Narendra Modi and LoP Rahul Gandhi in July this year on filling the vacancies in the CIC.“NCPRI is concerned to note that the CIC is functioning with only the chief information commissioner and two information commissioners. Eight posts of information commissioners are lying vacant, even as the backlog of appeals/complaints currently stands at nearly 23,000 and is steadily increasing,” said the letter.“It is extremely worrying that for several months the CIC has been functioning at a reduced capacity. This negates the very purpose of the RTI Act, which is to ensure time-bound access to information,” it added.
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