Ranchi, April 1 – The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday directed the State Government to provide details on filling the long-standing vacancies in key constitutional bodies by April 13.
The constitutional bodies with pending vacancies include the Lokayukta, the State Human Rights Commission, and the State Information Commission.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar was hearing a batch of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) cases and related contempt petitions on this issue on Wednesday.
Appearing for the State, Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan informed the court that, following the previous hearing, a high-level meeting of the Selection Committee was held at the residence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, where key decisions regarding appointments to high constitutional posts were taken. He submitted to the court that the process is now in its final stages.
Ranjan further informed the bench that Chief Minister Hemant Soren is currently out of the state due to the Assam elections, and that the government would formally record the decisions made and the progress achieved once he returns to the state.
Senior Advocate V.P. Singh, representing the petitioner Rajkumar, argued that the prolonged vacancies – which have persisted for several years – have adversely affected the state's administrative and quasi-judicial functioning.
It is worth noting that the first PIL seeking the appointment of Information Commissioners was filed in 2020. Despite multiple hearings over the years, the posts remain vacant. The court has repeatedly issued strong observations in several earlier proceedings.
Taking the State's submissions on record, the bench posted the matter for further hearing on April 13.
The petitions, filed by Advocate Rajkumar and the Advocates' Association, seek expeditious appointments to key positions in Jharkhand, including the Lokayukta and the Chief Information Commissioner.