Modi, Shah, Rahul Gandhi meet to select chief information commissioner
What's the story
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met on Wednesday to decide on the appointment of the next Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). The panel will also decide on filling eight vacant positions at the Central Information Commission (CIC). The PM-led panel is responsible for selecting and recommending names for these top posts under Section 12 (3) of the Right to Information Act.
Vacancy details
Current CIC vacancies and pending cases
The CIC, which is the highest appellate authority for RTI-related complaints and appeals, currently has only two information commissioners: Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Kumar Tiwari. There are eight vacant posts with a backlog of 30,838 cases. Heeralal Samariya was the last Chief Information Commissioner. He retired on September 13 after turning 65.
Application numbers
Applications received for CIC and information commissioner posts
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had received 83 applications for the Chief Information Commissioner's post in response to its May 21 advertisement. For the vacancies of Information Commissioners, 161 applications were received. These applications are tabulated by the DoPT and sent to a search committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary. The shortlisted candidates are then forwarded to the PM-led committee for final selection.
Legal proceedings
Supreme Court's involvement in CIC appointments
The Centre had informed the SC on December 1 that the PM-led panel is likely to meet on December 10 for these appointments. The court was hearing a plea seeking to fill vacant posts in both CIC and state information commissions. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing petitioners, argued that the government has not filled vacant posts, leading to backlog of cases. Bhushan said there are at least seven comprehensive orders of the court, directing the Centre to promptly fill the vacancies.