New Delhi, Dec 13: Former Law Secretary Raj Kumar Goyal has been appointed as the new Chief Information Commissioner, leading a fully restored 11-member Central Information Commission (CIC) for the first time in nearly seven years, officials said on Friday.
Alongside Goyal, eight new Information Commissioners—most of them retired civil servants—have also been appointed, filling long-standing vacancies in the central transparency body, which had been functioning with only two members since September.
Goyal is scheduled to take oath as the Chief Information Commissioner on Monday at 11 a.m. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office, following which Goyal will swear in the newly appointed Information Commissioners.
The appointments were finalized after a meeting of the high-level Selection Committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The committee also included Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. During the deliberations, Gandhi reportedly submitted a dissent note, arguing that the selection lacked adequate representation of “Bahujans,” a claim that was countered by the government.
With the new appointments, the CIC regains its full strength, enabling it to function more effectively in handling transparency and Right to Information (RTI) matters across the country.
