Over 3.85 lakh RTI cases pending across 28 Indian information commissions

Massive backlog of RTI matters

The voluntary watchdog Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) released its annual "Report Card on the Performance of Information Commissions in India, 2025‑26" on 12 October 2026. It shows that 3,85,716 appeals and complaints remained pending on 30 June 2026 across 28 information commissions. Fourteen of those commissions now have an estimated waiting period of one year or more before a matter is disposed.

Which commissions are most congested

Maharashtra’s State Information Commission tops the list with 77,397 pending cases, followed by Chhattisgarh (52,559) and Bihar (42,243). The Central Information Commission (CIC) sits at 39,121 pending, up sharply from 24,102 a year earlier. Data for the Meghalaya commission was unavailable, and the Rajasthan commission had not yet published its annual figures for the period.

Registrations and disposals

During the July 2025‑June 2026 window, 2,61,669 appeals and complaints were registered by the 27 commissions that supplied data. The same period saw 2,41,627 matters closed by 28 commissions. Maharashtra again led on disposal, clearing 54,985 cases, with Karnataka (38,656), Tamil Nadu (23,808), Uttar Pradesh (21,528) and the CIC (17,319) trailing.

Problem areas and government response

The SNS report flags two systemic issues: vacancies in many commissions and a slow disposal rate. The CIC’s average clearance time stretches to 2 years and 3 months. Some commissions are effectively dormant – Jharkhand stopped registering new appeals and disposed of none, while Himachal Pradesh’s commission has been defunct since 3 July 2025. The agency notes that nine commissions returned appeals without issuing orders between July 2025 and June 2026, the CIC alone returning 14,603 of its 31,179 registered matters.

Officials point to ongoing recruitment drives and digitisation initiatives aimed at trimming the backlog. The Ministry of Law and Justice has pledged to fill vacant posts and introduce a unified case‑management portal, steps that align with the government’s broader push to strengthen transparency mechanisms.

What the numbers mean for citizens

Even with the sizable pendency, the disposal figures illustrate that the commissions are still processing large volumes of requests. The upward trend in registrations suggests heightened public use of the Right‑to‑Information Act, while the steady rise in disposals shows that the system, though strained, continues to deliver.

Looking ahead

The next edition of the SNS report, expected in mid‑2027, will reveal whether staffing boosts and technology upgrades have translated into shorter waiting times. For now, the data underscores the importance of sustained investment in India’s information commissions, a key pillar of the country’s democratic accountability.