Women Grossly Underrepresented in Information Commissions, finds RTI

By: WE Staff | Friday, 9 February 2024

Twelve of the 29 information commissioners in India, which were established under the Right to Information Act of 2005, did not comprise a single female commissioner as of October 12, 2023. The commissions' inefficiency and effectiveness in addressing grievances are questioned due to the underrepresentation of women.

Women have made up only nine per cent of all commissioners since the law's implementation. The situation is considerably more alarming when it comes to Chief Information Commissioners (CICs), with only 5 per cent of chiefs across state and central information commissions being women. There were no female-led information commissioners in the respective sector.

Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal are among the states that have never had a female commissioner. The organization Satark Nagrik Sangathan published a "Report Card of Information Commissions in India, 2022–2023" that included these conclusions. The research also emphasizes how unorganized the commissions are. Out of the 465 commissioners, 58 per cent were retired government employees, compared to just 14 per cent who were lawyers or former judges, 11 per cent who had worked in journalism, 5 per cent who were professors, and 4 per cent who were social activists or employees. The same situation applies to the 138 chief information commissioners, of whom 86 per cent were retired government employees, including over 71 per cent of retired IAS officers.

The report highlights the high number of cases returned by ICs without any orders being passed. 41 per cent of the appeals and complaints that the CICs and SICs of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Kerala received have been returned. Additionally, it is mentioned that there are significant differences between and within commissioners, with some having extremely low disposal rates per commissioner. Only the CIC, out of the 29 information commissions, has set a standard for the annual handling of 3,200 cases per commissioner.

The report reveals low disposal rates and vacancies in commissions in India, leading to a large backlog of cases and long waiting times for information seekers. As of 30 June 2023, nearly four lakh appeals and complaints were pending in 28 ICs. Variations in case disposal rates in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh SICs, with some commissioners disposing fewer cases than others, have been observed.