Maharashtra’s State Information Commission is reportedly reeling under the weight of an enormous backlog, with over 98,000 Right to Information (RTI) appeals and complaints informed to be pending as of May 2025.
This grim reality was brought to light after Navi mumbai based RTI activist Santhosh Jadhav filed an application last month seeking details on how many RTI cases are currently pending and which year’s cases are being heard.
Based on the findings the activist opined that citizens seeking transparency are now being forced to wait three to four years for hearings, thereby severely undermining the purpose of the landmark RTI Act.
The activist RTI was triggered by the state government’s alleged failure to provide information regarding the Ladki Behan Yojana, a welfare scheme sought last month.
“When the department didn’t respond regarding the Ladki Behan Yojana, I had to file an RTI. And to find out pendency of appeals, I had to file another one. It’s a vicious cycle,” said Jadhav.
According to the response he received, the total number of unresolved cases across all benches of the Maharashtra State Information Commission stands at 98,203. The highest pendency is at the Mumbai Main Bench with 20,119 appeals, followed by Nashik with 13,261 appeals, and Amravati with 12,266. "The remaining benches in Brihanmumbai, Konkan, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Nagpur are also grappling with thousands of appeals and complaints," he said.
Hearings are currently being conducted for appeals filed in 2021 and 2022, indicating a delay of at least three to four years in some cases.
Jadhav warned that the backlog is pushing the RTI Act toward irrelevance. “If citizens have to wait five years to get basic information, the very soul of the Act is being crushed,” he said. “Departments know this. They use the delay as a shield to deny or block requests, confident that appeals won’t be heard anytime soon.”
Despite having eight benches across the state, the Information Commission is stated to be lacking the staff and resources to handle the growing volume of cases efficiently.
"What was once hailed as a revolutionary tool for accountability is now at risk of becoming dysfunctional. There is a need for urgent administrative reforms, including the appointment of additional commissioners, digital hearings, and strict timelines for response to restore faith in the system, said Jadhav.
