The former chief secretary of Bihar R J M Pillai is the Chief Information Commissioner, while journalist Farzand Ahmed and another former bureaucrat, V Raghavan are the other two members. 

After the Supreme Court order the State Information Commission would not be able to hear appeals under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Interestingly, Bihar is among the first states in the country to take initiative in the direction of the constitution of Right to Information. 

However, reports from elsewhere said that hearings on appeals were suspended in Assam, Kerala, Kerala, and Rajasthan too as the SIC sought clarifications, while proceedings are going on uninterrupted at the Commissions in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The Tamil Nadu SIC said it was functioning effectively as three of the six Information Commissioners had a legal background to handle cases under the RTI Act.

Some State Information Commissioners said it would take time to implement the changes ordered by the Supreme Court. 

RTI activists are divided over the likely impact of the Supreme Court ruling. While one group is of the view that the new procedure would weaken information access for people others hold different view.


In Assam, the Information Commission temporarily suspended hearings in view of the order as the SIC has no judicial member.

The Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission is also functioning without interruption.