Recent amendments to the Right to information Act will have profound impact on the autonomy and…

Question

Recent amendments to the Right to information Act will have profound impact on the autonomy and independence of the Information Commission. Discuss.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

The 2019 amendment left Information Commissions' powers intact but let the Centre fix commissioners' tenure and salary, weakening the security that underpins their independence. The RTI Rules, 2019 cut the fixed five-year term to three years and ended parity with the Election Commission.

**Introduction**

Information Commissions are the RTI Act's final appellate authority. The RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 left their powers intact but rewrote the service conditions that guarded their independence from the governments they rule against.

**What the 2019 Amendment Changed**

SKETCH: comparison | Information Commissioners: 2005 vs 2019
a: RTI Act 2005
b: After 2019 Amendment
- Fixed 5-year term :: Term set by Centre
- Pay equal to ECs :: Pay set by Centre
- Status fixed by statute :: Status by executive rules
- Pension deduction rule :: Provision deleted

1. **Executive control**: Amended Sections 13 and 16 let the Centre prescribe term and salary for central and state commissioners, and the RTI Rules, 2019 cut the term to three years.
2. **Government's rationale**: The Centre called parity between a statutory body and the constitutional Election Commission an anomaly.
3. **Powers untouched**: The selection committee, removal only after a Supreme Court inquiry, and penalty powers remain intact.

**Impact on Autonomy and Independence**

1. **Insecure tenure**: Terms and salaries alterable by rules, which the 2019 Rules even let the Centre relax for any class of persons, create an incentive to please the government whose files a commissioner hears.
2. **Lower status**: Delinking from Election Commission parity weakens commissioners' standing before senior officials.
3. **Federal concern**: States appoint their commissioners, yet the Centre now fixes their service conditions.
4. **Vacancies**: Six of 29 commissions were defunct for periods in 2024-25, with over 4.1 lakh appeals pending (Satark Nagrik Sangathan, 2025), despite the Supreme Court's call for timely appointments in Anjali Bhardwaj (2019).

**Conclusion**

The amendment spared the commissions' powers but weakened the security that lets them use those powers fearlessly, which is the essence of independence. Statutory tenure, restored parity and timely appointments would keep the RTI's appellate guardian in neutral hands.

Recent amendments to the Right to information Act will have profound impact on the autonomy and independence of the Information Commission. Discuss.

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