Times
of India: Panaji: Thursday, 18 December 2014.
The state
government has given its nod to fill up the posts of state information
commissioners (SICs) lying vacant since more than two years. Sources informed
that an advertisement will be published next week in this regard. The
qualification for one of the posts is that the candidate should be a practicing
lawyer and for the other, he/she should be a lawyer besides a journalist by
profession.
In the past,
the selection process of SICs was cancelled on technical grounds. The
government had even finalized the names of journalist Sandesh Prabhudesai and
former functionary of the Union defence ministry, Stanley Coutinho for the
posts.
Reacting to
it, the then chief minister Manohar Parrikar had said that as per the
directions of the Supreme Court that at least one of the information
commissioners has to have the knowledge of law, the selection process was
cancelled. The government had not mentioned this requirement when the posts
were advertised.
In July 2013,
government had announced the names of persons shortlisted for the posts of CIC
and SICs. Retired IAS officer and former Maharashtra additional chief secretary
Leena Mehendale was selected as CIC.
In August
2013, high court issued notice to government over appointment of the second SIC
following petition by a social activist. Subsequently, cabinet cancelled the
appointments of Prabhudesai and Coutinho as SICs, but approved Mehendale as
CIC.