For the past month, the Central Information Commission has been operating without a Chief since YK Sinha’s tenure ended on October 3. The commission now faces the looming possibility of virtual inactivity as the terms of the remaining three information commissioners are set to conclude on Monday. All eyes are on the appointment of new Information Commissioners, and government sources have revealed that the Prime Minister-led selection committee has already convened to address this matter. Friday marked the last working day for Information Commissioner Suresh Chandra, as he is set to leave office on Sunday.
The remaining three commissioners, Heeralal Samariya, Uday Mahurkar, and Saroj Punhani, will see their tenures come to an end on Monday. According to sources, the selection committee has held discussions, and it is likely that new appointments will be announced soon. However, if these new Information Commissioners are not appointed by Monday, the commission faces the risk of becoming non-functional, as there will be no commissioners remaining on the panel starting from Tuesday.
Sources have reported that Adheer Ranjan Chaudhary, the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha and a committee member, was informed about the scheduled meeting on Friday. However, he expressed his inability to attend due to prior commitments and requested alternative dates, to which the government did not agree.
According to the provisions of the RTI Act 2005, the Central Information Commission (CIC) comprises the Chief Information Commissioner and a maximum of 10 Central Information Commissioners, as may be deemed necessary.
