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Information Commission Bangladesh

constitutional · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head
—
Role
Chief Information Commissioner
Annual budget
—
Staff
76
Established
2009
Legal basis
Right to Information Act, 2009 (Act No. 20 of 2009; President's assent 5 April 2009; came into force 1 July 2009), grounded in Article 39 of the Constitution of Bangladesh which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, and speech as a fundamental right. The Commission consists of one Chief Information Commissioner and two Commissioners (at least one woman), appointed by the President on recommendation of a selection committee chaired by an Appellate Division judge.

Fully non-functional since September 2024. All three commissioner posts are vacant; the commission has no adjudicatory authority. The RTI (Amendment) Ordinance 2026 has been referred back for revision by parliament and is not yet law. Over 600 complaints are pending, and 168,000+ RTI applications have accumulated since the law's inception through December 2024, with 12,000+ filed in 2024 alone. A High Court order of 31 August 2025 directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to report on steps taken toward appointments. The new BNP government has not yet reconstituted the commission as of 17 May 2026.

Recent activity

Provenance & notes

The Information Commission is classified 'constitutional' per the entity_type schema because it derives its mandate from Article 39 of the Constitution and is treated as a constitutional body in reform discourse; it is formally a statutory commission established by the RTI Act 2009, not a body named in the constitutional text itself. First CIC was M Azizur Rahman; subsequent heads included Martuza Ahmed (CIC from 18 January 2018), and Abdul Malek (CIC from 22 March 2023, relieved 10 September 2024). The commission has been entirely headless since September 2024: Malek and Alam resigned; Bhatti was removed 21 January 2025 following a proven misconduct inquiry. Additional Secretary Md Yasin serves in a caretaker capacity only. RTI statistics (verified via Prothom Alo, January 2026): 168,000+ total applications since 2009; 12,000+ in 2024 alone; 600+ complaints pending unresolved as of January 2026. The five-year tenure of the last commission received 5,182 appeals and resolved ~95% of them (BSS/commission annual report, November 2024 cited by multiple outlets). The RTI (Amendment) Ordinance 2026 (one of 133 interim-government ordinances) was referred by the parliamentary special committee on 2 April 2026 for further revision before reintroduction as a bill; key disputed areas: definition of 'information', scope covering private entities receiving public funds, mandatory 45-day vacancy deadline, and alignment of commissioner rank/pay with HC/AD judges. Civil society platform ('National Citizens Platform for RTI') formed January 2026. High Court writ order of 31 August 2025 directed Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to report on appointment steps. Staff_count of 76 sourced from Wikipedia citing the commission's own published figure. Annual BDT budget not disaggregated in any primary source consulted; verification_status = verified because establishment, legal basis, current vacancy, RTI statistics, and recent events are all cross-checked across 2+ independent primary sources.

Sources