NEW DELHI DEC 09:A three-member high-level selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to convene on Wednesday to decide on the appointment of the next Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and fill eight vacant positions of Information Commissioners in the Central Information Commission. The panel also includes Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and a Union minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
The government, in an affidavit before the Supreme Court on December 1, had informed that the meeting of the Prime Minister-led committee was likely to take place on December 10 to finalise and recommend names for these key posts under the Right to Information (RTI) framework.
Section 12(3) of the RTI Act outlines the composition of this committee, with the Prime Minister serving as its chairperson. The committee is responsible for recommending appointments to the President for the posts of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners—key positions that oversee compliance with the transparency law across central government departments.
The Central Information Commission currently faces an acute shortage of personnel. According to its official website, the Commission has only two Information Commissioners—Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Kumar Tiwari—against a sanctioned strength of ten, with eight positions lying vacant. The backlog of pending cases has swelled to 30,838, severely affecting the Commission’s functioning.
The post of Chief Information Commissioner has also been vacant since September 13, following the retirement of Heeralal Samariya upon attaining the age of 65. Samariya, who assumed charge on November 6, 2023, was the seventh CIC to demit office since 2014. The Commission first went without a chief after the retirement of Rajiv Mathur in August 2014, a pattern that has since repeated several times.
According to information obtained by RTI activist Commodore (Retd.) Lokesh Batra, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) received 83 applications for the post of Chief Information Commissioner after issuing an advertisement on May 21. Another 161 applications were submitted in response to a subsequent notification on August 14, 2024, inviting candidates for the vacant positions of Information Commissioners.
As per the established selection procedure, applications are invited through public advertisements and the DoPT website. After collecting and tabulating the details, the DoPT forwards them to a Search Committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. This committee shortlists eligible candidates and forwards its recommendations—along with the complete list—to the committee chaired by the Prime Minister. The final names approved by this committee are then submitted to the President for appointment.
With the Central Information Commission functioning at reduced strength for months, the upcoming meeting of the Prime Minister-led panel is expected to bring much-needed clarity and leadership to the transparency watchdog amid mounting case backlogs and persistent vacancies.
