Skip to main content

Govt of India "undermines" transparency in appointing information commissioners

Mallikakarjun Kharge, Modi
Counterview Desk
Several concerned citizens write to the Selection Committee responsible for recommending names of Central Information Commissioners (CICs), expressing strong reservations about the process followed by the government for inviting applications and short-listing candidates for the posts of information commissioners in the CIC.
Addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is chairperson of the selection committee and to Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha and a member of the selection committee, the letter states that the advertisements, and the accompanying notifications issued by the government inviting applications for vacant posts in CIC, were not in keeping with the Right to Information (RTI) Act, as they did not specify the salaries, allowances and other conditions of service and tenure of information commissioners as provided for in the law.
The letter adds, the tenure and salaries of information commissioners not being defined in the advertisements issued by the government would have dissuaded many people of eminence from applying, thereby compromising the appointment procedure.
The letter further says that the procedure of short-listing candidates has been shrouded in secrecy with even basic information about applications received in response to the advertisements and details about the functioning of the search committee, being denied under the RTI Act, urging the committee to ensure that the advertisement is suitably rectified and re-issued with immediate effect.
Currently, eight out of 11 posts of information commissioners, including that of the Chief Information Commissioner, are lying vacant in CIC.

Text of the letter:

According to media reports, the committee to select information commissioners is scheduled to meet on December 11, 2018, to decide names for posts of four information commissioners and the chief information commissioner of the Central Information Commission.
We are writing to express our strong reservations about the process of inviting applications and short listing candidates followed by the government, which we believe has compromised the appointment procedure.
The government issued an advertisement inviting applications for the post of 4 information commissioners on July 26, 2018. Another advertisement, dated October 23, 2018, was issued for the post of the chief information commissioner. Both advertisements, and the accompanying notifications, were not in keeping with the RTI Act as they did not specify the salaries, allowances and other conditions of service and tenure of information commissioners as provided for in the law. 
The notifications stated that the salary, allowances and other terms and conditions of service “shall be as may be specified at the time of appointment of the selected candidate/s”. This is at variance with the provisions of the RTI Act. 
The law states that the Chief Information Commissioner and information commissioners shall be persons of eminence in public life. Sections 13(2) and 13(5) specify that the salaries, allowances and other terms of service of the chief and other information commissioners of the Central Information Commission, shall be the same as that of the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners, respectively. The chief and other election commissioners are paid a salary equal to the salary of a judge of the Supreme Court, which is decided by Parliament. Further, the RTI Act provides for a fixed tenure of 5 years for information commissioners, subject to a retirement age of 65 years. It is pertinent to note that previous notifications of vacancies specified the salary, terms of service and tenure of commissioners as per the provisions of the RTI Act.
The tenure and salaries of information commissioners not being defined in the advertisements issued by the government, would have dissuaded many people of eminence from applying. As a result, the selection committee will not have the benefit on selecting from a comprehensive pool of candidates.
It is, therefore, crucial that the government suitably rectify and re-issue the advertisement for the posts. This must be done with immediate effect, since eight out of eleven posts of information commissioners in the Central Information Commission are lying vacant.
Further, the procedure of short-listing candidates has been shrouded in secrecy. Information sought under the RTI Act, about applications received in response to the advertisements issued for the position of information commissioners and details about the functioning of the search committee, was illegally denied by the Department of Personnel & Training, which stated: 
“The matter regarding appointment of Information Commissioners, Central Information Commission is under consideration and has not reached finality. As per section 8(1) (i) of the RTI Act, 2005, information requested by you cannot be supplied at this stage”.
Lack of transparency in the appointment process of information commissioners in the CIC would erode public trust in the institution, which plays a pivotal role in the implementation of the RTI Act.
We, therefore, urge you to ensure that all vacancies in the Central Information Commission are filled in a transparent, time-bound manner as per the provisions of the RTI Act.
---
*Anjali Bhardwaj, Aruna Roy, Wajahat Habibullah, Shekhar Singh, Shailesh Gandhi, Nikhil Dey, Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, Venkatesh Nayak, Dr Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, Pankti Jog, Pradip Pradhan, Commodore Lokesh K Batra (Retd), Amrita Johri

Comments

TRENDING

Campaign group urges INDIA alliance to release Jharkhand manifesto to counter BJP’s 'divisive' agenda

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan, an advocacy group, has issued a press release urging the INDIA alliance to release a Jharkhand-specific manifesto to counter the BJP’s "divisive" electoral agenda. With just two weeks remaining before the assembly elections, the INDIA coalition has yet to announce its plans and priorities for the state. Meanwhile, the BJP's campaign, according to the press release, is centered around communalism, divisiveness, and distraction from Jharkhand's core issues.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor*  Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Israel's 'war crime': 18,000 children died not just from bomb explosions but also starvation

By Sandeep Pandey*  Last year 6 years old Madiha was a guest during Diwali at our home in Lucknow. Listening to the sound of fire crackers bursting outside she remarked, ‘It appears as if we’re in Gaza.’ She has probably no idea of the extent of damage and loss of life that has taken place in Palestine but can relate to sound of crackers as bombs exploding over Gaza.

United organisations oppose privatisation of health services in Madhya Pradesh

By Our Representative  In a strong show of opposition, multiple health associations under the umbrella of the United Organisations for Action against Privatisation of Health Services have condemned the Government of Madhya Pradesh’s recent moves towards privatising public health facilities. They argue that these actions, including outsourcing and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, will compromise the availability and accessibility of essential health services for the state’s citizens.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.