What does the Supreme Court Verdict mean to us?

Does it address the issues we faced in the last six years?

S No Issue
Process of appointment of Information Commissioners is arbitrary, lacks transparency Information Commissions are becoming rehabilitation centers for retired bureaucrats and political party loyalists Information Commission Vacancies are not filled in time There are no uniform rules for RTI. Different rules for different states. Different commissions deliver different judgments on the same issue Information Commissions should be manned by young and enthusiastic people (eligible ones) so that they can reduce the pendency of cases and use technology better Commission and commissioners are not citizen friendly because of complicated procedures and technical rejections of appeals Information Commissioners should have experience in social work, only then they can understand the problems of access to information

Does the SC Judgment address this issue?

Yes

Comments
It lays down ground rules though not in detail. It talks of an advertisement, wide publicity, empanelment and all information being made available to the High Powered Committee(HPC) It lays the conditions and eligibility criteria explaining Sec12(5) and Sec 15(5) in detail The order clearly says that the process of selection should commence at least three months prior to the occurrence of vacancy It directed the appropriate government to frame rules within six months. This might force all governments to frame uniform rules. It also said that Information Commissions are bound by the law of precedence. In fact, it does the opposite by saying that lawyers need 20 years of experience to be considered and retired judges should be considered. This might bring in the old culture of adjournments and unnecessary, complicated procedures In fact, it might aggravate the situation since retired judges or those from a judicial background and might force these rules etc It does not define mandatory social work experience for anybody except in the case of lawyers with more than 20 years of experience. It says, First Appellate Authorities(FAA) preferably should be the persons possessing a degree in law or having adequate knowledge and experience in the field of law, but this might result in appointment of FAA only at a district level or so since it is difficult to find people with a law degree at lower levels of governance

Yes

Yes

Yes (Partly)

No

No

No

First Appellate Authorities are not discharging their duties properly

Yes (Partly)