A three-member selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, is likely to meet on Wednesday afternoon to choose the next Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners for the Central Information Commission (CIC).
The Centre told the Supreme Court on December 1 that the committee would meet on December 10 to decide the names. The CIC has had no chief since Heeralal Samariya completed his term and left office on September 13 after turning 65.
The CIC can have one Chief Information Commissioner and up to ten Information Commissioners. At the moment, only two ICs — Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Kumar Tiwari — are in place. Eight posts have been vacant since November 2023.
Under Section 12(3) of the RTI Act, the Prime Minister heads the selection committee. The other members are the Leader of Opposition and a Union minister chosen by the PM.
As per the process, applications are invited through public notices. The DoPT collects the applications and sends them to a search committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary. The search committee prepares a shortlist and sends it to the PM-led panel for the final decision.
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