Ranchi: Following strong observations from the High Court, the Jharkhand government on Thursday assured that the State Information Commission, defunct for nearly five years, will be made fully functional within the next four weeks.
The assurance was given during a hearing before a division bench comprising Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice A.K. Rai on a petition filed by Virendra Singh. Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan, representing the state, informed the court that concrete steps are underway and the commission would begin 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 cautioned that contempt proceedings could be initiated against responsible officials if the commission was not activated without delay. The court had also noted that despite its December 12, 2025 direction, the state government had failed to make any tangible progress.
After hearing the submissions on Thursday, the bench granted the government four weeks to ensure the commission becomes operational.
Counsel for the petitioner highlighted that the State Information Commission has remained inactive for almost five years due to vacancies in the posts of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners. This, he argued, has deprived citizens of a statutory forum to file second appeals under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
The prolonged inaction has caused significant hardship to information seekers, forcing them to approach the High Court directly and increasing the burden on the judiciary.
Advocate Vikas Kumar appeared for the petitioner. The appellant, Virendra Singh, 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 his second appeal, Singh approached the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.
With inputs from IANS