“Recent amendments to the Right to Information Act will have profound impact on the autonomy and independence of the Information Commission”. Discuss.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Discuss how the 2019 amendments, by giving the Centre control over the tenure, salary and service conditions of Information Commissioners, affect their autonomy, and how the Government defends them.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Discuss: what the 2019 amendments changed in the tenure, salary and service conditions of Information Commissioners
- Discuss: the impact on the Commissions' autonomy and independence, weighing the concerns against the Government's justification
Open with · The Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019 rewrote Sections 13 and 16 so that the term, salaries and service conditions of Information Commissioners, at the Centre and in the States, are prescribed by the Central Government.
Cover
- Before: five-year terms (or age 65), and status and pay equal to the Chief Election Commissioner or Election Commissioners, fixed by statute.
- After: term, salary and other conditions prescribed by the Central Government through rules, for Central and State commissions; the RTI Rules, 2019 fixed three-year terms.
- Autonomy concern: control over tenure and pay may make commissioners defer to the executive, the main holder of the information they order disclosed.
- Process: the Bill passed within days in July 2019, without Select Committee scrutiny.
- Government's case: the Election Commission is constitutional (Article 324), Information Commissions statutory, so parity was anomalous.
- Unchanged: appointment by a committee including the Leader of Opposition (Section 12); removal only after a Supreme Court inquiry (Section 14).
- Way forward: restore tenure and pay in the statute; follow Anjali Bhardwaj (2019) on public shortlisting criteria and appointees beyond government service.
Close with · Information Commissions guard the right to know; statutory tenure and pay would keep them independent and serve SDG target 16.10, public access to information.
Add value (verified)
- Section 13(5), as substituted in 2019, leaves the pay and service conditions of the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners to be prescribed by the Central Government.The Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019 (No. 24 of 2019), section 2(c) — Central Information Commission ↗“The salaries and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service of the Chief Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioners shall be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government”
- The RTI Rules notified on 24 October 2019 fixed the term of the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners at three years, down from the five years the Act itself had guaranteed.The Right to Information (Term of Office, Salaries, Allowances and Other Terms and Conditions of Service…) Rules, 2019, rule 3 — DoPT ↗“The Chief Information Commissioner, or Information Commissioners, as the case may be, shall hold office for a period of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office.”
- In Anjali Bhardwaj v. Union of India (15 February 2019) the Supreme Court asked Search Committees to make their shortlisting criteria public, so that shortlisting is objective.Anjali Bhardwaj v. Union of India, judgment of 15 February 2019 - Supreme Court of India ↗“it would also be appropriate for the Search Committee to make the criteria for shortlisting the candidates, public, so that it is ensured that shortlisting is done on the basis of objective and rational criteria”
- The same judgment expected Information Commissioners to be drawn from the other streams the Act names, not only from serving or retired government employees.Anjali Bhardwaj v. Union of India, judgment of 15 February 2019 - Supreme Court of India ↗“We also expect that Information Commissioners are appointed from other streams, as mentioned in the Act and the selection is not limited only to the Government employee/ex- government employee”
- SDG target 16.10 commits countries to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms.Goal 16 - United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Sustainable Development ↗“Target 16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 224words · Minimalist IAS
The Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019 rewrote Sections 13 and 16 of the RTI Act, 2005: the term, salaries and service conditions of Information Commissioners, Central and State, are now prescribed by the Central Government. Tenure and pay, the shields of independence, became executive matters.
What the recent amendments changed
| Condition | RTI Act, 2005 | After 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Term | Five years, in the Act | Three years, by Rules |
| Pay | Equal to Election Commissioners | Set by the Centre |
Profound impact on autonomy and independence
- Executive leverage: commissioners rule against the executive that now controls their term and pay.
- Changeable by notification: the RTI Rules, 2019 cut the term to three years; new rules can alter it again.
- Federal reach: the Centre now sets conditions even for State commissions.
- Hasty passage: no Select Committee scrutiny (July 2019).
The Government's justification
- Different mandates: the Election Commission is constitutional (Article 324), Information Commissions statutory; parity was anomalous.
- Safeguards remain: a selection committee with the Leader of Opposition (Section 12); removal only after a Supreme Court inquiry (Section 14).
Way forward
- Statutory security, transparent selection: restore tenure and pay in the Act; follow Anjali Bhardwaj (2019) on public shortlisting criteria and commissioners from beyond government service.
Information Commissions guard the right to know; statutory tenure and pay would keep them independent and serve SDG target 16.10, public access to information.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
