Functioning Of The Karnataka State Information Commission (KSIC): A Study On Pendency, Delay, And Disposal
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Tarshish D Silva, School of Law (Christ Deemed To Be University)
ABSTRACT
One of the most important democratic changes in India is the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act), which aims to institutionalize transparency, accountability, and empowerment of citizens. At the state level, the task of implementing this requirement is imposed on the State Information Commissions (SICs). This paper critically examines the workings of Karnataka State Information Commission (KSIC) in the 2020- 2024 period, putting its operations into the context of the national discourse on transparency and governance. The study has established a set of structural and functional inadequacies that have grossly compromised the performance of the KSIC. These include most notably an ever-growing backlog of second appeals and complaints, ongoing vacancies in the office of commissioners, laxity in applying penalty provisions in Section 20, and the inability to publish annual reports since 2020 in breach of Section 25 of the RTI Act.
The study is methodologically based on secondary sources, RTI use, and a comparative analysis with other State Information Commissions, like those in Maharashtra and Haryana. It unveils the erosion by institutional apathy, infrastructural deficits, low rates of digitisation, and political indifference in undermining the credibility of the Commission and eroding the constitutional promise of access to information in Article 19(1)(a). The lack of action of the KSIC not only undermines the people's trust but also threatens to make the RTI framework ineffective in Karnataka.
The paper ends with a highlight of the necessary changes to be implemented, such as timely appointments, increased accountability, increased financial and functional independence, and integration of technology-driven processes. It is urgent to build the strength of the KSIC in order to protect participatory democracy and to make the transformative potential of the RTI Act become a living reality and not a promise on paper.
