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

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Ahmedabad's Sabarmati riverfront under scrutiny after Subhash Bridge damage

By Rosamma Thomas* Large cracks have appeared on Subhash Bridge across the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, close to the Gandhi Ashram . Built in 1973, this bridge, named after Subhash Chandra Bose , connects the eastern and western parts of the city and is located close to major commercial areas. The four-lane bridge has sidewalks for pedestrians, and is vital for access to Ashram Road , Ellis Bridge , Gandhinagar and the Sabarmati Railway Station .

Farewell to Robin Smith, England’s Lionhearted Warrior Against Pace

By Harsh Thakor* Robin Smith, who has died at the age of 62, was among the most adept and convincing players of fast bowling during an era when English cricket was in decline and pace bowling was at its most lethal. Unwavering against the tormenting West Indies pace attack or the relentless Australians, Smith epitomised courage and stroke-making prowess. His trademark shot, an immensely powerful square cut, made him a scourge of opponents. Wearing a blue England helmet without a visor or grille, he relished pulling, hooking and cutting the quicks.

No action yet on complaint over assault on lawyer during Tirunelveli public hearing

By A Representative A day after a detailed complaint was filed seeking disciplinary action against ten lawyers in Tirunelveli for allegedly assaulting human rights lawyer Dr. V. Suresh, no action has yet been taken by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, according to the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Latur’s quiet rebel: Dr Suryanarayan Ransubhe and his war on Manuvad

By Ravi Ranjan* In an India still fractured by caste, religion, and language, where narrow loyalties repeatedly threaten to tear the nation apart, Rammanohar Lohia once observed that the true leader of the bahujans is one under whose banner even non-bahujans feel proud to march. The remark applies far beyond politics. In the literary-cultural and social spheres as well, only a person armed with unflinching historical consciousness and the moral courage to refuse every form of personality worship—including worship of oneself—can hope to touch the weak pulse of the age and speak its bitter truths without fear or favour.

Differences in 2002 and 2025 SIR revision procedures spark alarm in Gujarat

By A Representative Civil rights groups and electoral reform activists have raised serious concerns over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Gujarat and 11 other states, alleging that the newly enforced requirements could lead to large-scale deletion of legitimate voters, particularly those unable to furnish documentation linking them to the 2002 electoral list.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

From crime to verdict: The 27-year journey that 'rewarded' the destroyers of Babri Masjid

By Shamsul Islam Thirty-three years ago, on December 6, 1992, a 16th-century mosque was reduced to rubble by a frenzied mob orchestrated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political fronts. The demolition was not a spontaneous outburst of Hindu sentiment; it was the meticulously planned culmination of a hate campaign that branded Indian Muslims as “Babur-ki-aulad” and the Babri Masjid as a symbol of historical humiliation.

Bangladesh alternative more vital for NE India than Kaladan project in Myanmar

By Mehjabin Bhanu* There has been a recent surge in the number of Chin refugees entering Mizoram from the adjacent nation as a result of airstrikes by the Myanmar Army on ethnic insurgents and intense fighting along the border between India and Myanmar. Uncertainty has surrounded India's Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project, which uses Sittwe port in Myanmar, due to the recent outbreak of hostilities along the Mizoram-Myanmar border. Construction on the road portion of the Kaladan project, which runs from Paletwa in Myanmar to Zorinpui in Mizoram, was resumed thanks to the time of relative calm during the intermittent period. However, recent unrest has increased concerns about missing the revised commissioning goal dates. The project's goal is to link northeastern states with the rest of India via an alternate route, using the Sittwe port in Myanmar. In addition to this route, India can also connect the region with the rest of India through Assam by using the Chittagon...

Search This Blog