In a significant development, the Punjab government has appointed three new State Information Commissioners—Dr. Bhupinder Singh Batth, Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, and Virinderjit Singh Biling. This move comes after a directive from the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 18, 2024, which demanded a status report on the non-appointment of State Information Commissioners for the past three years.
The High Court’s order was in response to a plea that highlighted the vacancy crisis in the Punjab State Information Commission. The plea pointed out that the last appointment of a State Information Commissioner was made in July 2021. The commission was functioning at full capacity until September 2021, but thereafter, all ten seats gradually became vacant as commissioners retired.
The last serving information commissioner, Asit Jolly, retired on July 9, 2024, leaving only Chief Information Commissioner Inderpal Singh to handle the adjudication of pending appeals and complaints.
