Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha was appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner on November 7, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.

President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Sinha as the Chief Information Commissioner at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The post of the chief of transparency watchdog was lying vacant for over two months after Bimal Julka completed his term on August 26.

Sinha, a former diplomat, joined as the Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission (CIC) on January 1, 2019. He has served as India’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka. Sinha, 62, will have a tenure of about three years as the Chief Information Commissioner.

Sinha administered the oath of office to journalist Uday Mahurkar, former labour secretary Heera Lal Samariya and former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General Saroj Punhani as Information Commissioners.

The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners are short-listed for the posts by a three-member committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Besides Modi, leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are members of the panel.

With the induction of Mahurkar, Samariya and Punhani, the strength of Information Commissioners have gone up to seven. Vanaja N.Sarna, Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Suresh Chandra and Amita Pandove are the other Information Commissioners in the Central Information Commission.

At present, there are three vacancies for Information Commissioners in the Commission.

There is a pendency of over 37,000 cases in the CIC, and close to 32,000 of them are appeals while over 5,000 are complaints.

Central Information Commission

• The Constitution of India has enshrined the principles of democracy, by guaranteeing to its citizens certain Fundamental Rights. Article 19(1)(a) and Article 21 of the Constitution of India, by implication, guarantee to the citizens of India the right to know everything done by public functionaries. 

• The Central Information Commission was established in October 2005 under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act). 

• The jurisdiction of the Commission extends over all Central Public Authorities.

Appointments to the CIC 

• Transparency watchdog Central Information Commission, mandated to decide complaints and appeals filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, can have a Chief Information Commissioner and ten Information Commissioners.

• The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of:

1) the Prime Minister, who shall be the chairperson of the committee.

2) the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

3) A Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the PM.

• Section 12(5) of the RTI Act provides that the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners shall be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance.

• Section 12(6) of the RTI Act provides that Chief Information Commissioner or an Information Commissioner shall not be a member of Parliament or member of the Legislature of any state or Union Territory as the case may be, or hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.

• According to the RTI Act, 2005, the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners were appointed for a tenure of five years or till they attain the age of 65 years. Last year, following an amendment to the Act, the Centre curtailed the tenure of Information Commissioners in transparency panels across the country to three years. It also ended the parity enjoyed by Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners with Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners on terms and conditions of their service and tenure.

• The Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, have the same powers as are vested in a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matters:

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of persons and compel them to give oral or written evidence on oath and to produce the documents or things.

(b) requiring the discovery and inspection of documents.

(c) receiving evidence on affidavit.

(d) requisitioning any public record or copies thereof from any court or office.

(e) issuing summons for examination of witnesses or documents.

(f) any other matter which may be prescribed.

• The Chief Information Commissioner or an Information Commissioner may, at any time, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign from his office.

• The Chief Information Commissioner or any Information Commissioner shall be removed from his office only by order of the President on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity after the Supreme Court, on a reference made to it by the President, has, on inquiry, reported that the Chief Information Commissioner or any Information Commissioner, as the case may be, ought on such ground be removed. 

State Information Commission

• The State Information Commission (SIC) is constituted by the state government through a gazette notification. 

• The SIC is an autonomous body and not under any government department. 

• The SIC will have one State Chief Information Commissioner and not more than 10 State Information Commissioners.

• The State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioners shall be appointed by the governor on the recommendation of a committee consisting of:

1) the chief minister, who shall be the chairperson of the committee.

2) the leader of opposition in the legislative assembly.

3) a cabinet minister to be nominated by the chief minister.

• The headquarters of the State Information Commission shall be at such place in the state as the state government may specify and the State Information Commission may, with the previous approval of the state government, establish offices at other places in the state.

• Following an amendment to the RTI Act last year, the State Chief Information Commissioner, or State Information Commissioners, as the case may be, shall hold office for a period of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office.

• The State Chief Information Commissioner or a State Information Commissioner may, at any time, by writing under his hand addressed to the governor, resign from his office.

• The State Chief Information Commissioner or a State Information Commissioner shall be removed from his office only by order of the governor on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity after the Supreme Court, on a reference made to it by the governor, has on inquiry, reported that the State Chief Information Commissioner or a State Information Commissioner, as the case may be, ought on such ground be removed. 

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