No data with Chief Secretary office on staff covered under Job Security Act: RTI reply

Tribune India: Haryana: Saturday, December 20, 2025.
Subhash of Haryana Soochna Adhikar Manch had filed an RTI application

Even as the state government has enacted the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Act, 2024 to provide job security to contractual employees, the Chief Secretary’s office has no data regarding the number of employees who have got cover under the Act till September 2025, an RTI reply has revealed.
The Act had been enacted on December 6, 2024, and amended on April 9, 2025. It was aimed at ensuring stability to contractual, daily wage and Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited (HKRNL) employees. RTI activist Subhash of Haryana Soochna Adhikar Manch said the Chief Secretary’s office seems to lack the consolidated data regarding the employees covered under the Act.
However, in response to the specific question regarding the total number of employees covered under the Job Security Act, the reply stated that the Human Resource Department of the Chief Secretary’s office had issued a letter on August 18, 2025, to all Administrative Secretaries, HoDs, MDs and Chief Administrators of Boards and Corporations, Divisional Commissioners and DCs, directing them to upload details of daily wage and contractual employees fulfilling the conditions of the Act on an online portal.
The reply further stated that the portal has not yet been developed and is in the preparatory stage. In reply to another query, it stated that a committee was constituted for the development of online portal on August 6, 2025. The committee comprises the Joint Secretary, Human Resource-1, as Chairman, Senior Director IT (NIC) as Co-Chairman, Programmer T&A, and Superintendent HR-1, as members. The committee was required to submit the portal module to the Chief Secretary’s office by August 14, 2025.
The activist said it was evident from the RTI reply that the government had been slow in compiling the data of employees, who were to be covered under the Act.

RTI response flags pending scholarship applications of 1.4L students in Maha

Times of India: Pune: Saturday, December 20, 2025.
Over 1.4 lakh scholarship applications of higher education students in Maharashtra are pending at the college and departmental levels, pointing to significant delays in the implementation of state scholarship schemes, according to the reply of a query filed under the Right to Information Act (RTI).

Data obtained by the Care of Public Safety Association (COPS), which filed the RTI with the education department, showed that 75,000 applications are pending at the college level, while another 67,000 are awaiting clearance from the higher education department. The delays have affected thousands of students who rely on scholarships to continue their education.
A total of 14 scholarship schemes are administered by the Directorate of Higher Education (DHE). The RTI response attributed delays at colleges to poor processing and verification of applications and, in some cases, missing documents.
A senior DHE official told TOI on Friday: "The delay is by the college administration in most cases. We have been sending several reminders. Recently, we conducted a fortnight camp for colleges to submit verification of pending cases so that the beneficiaries are able to take advantage of the govt schemes." The official said the pending cases also include scholarships offered by the social welfare department and other state departments.
Despite high enrolment, scholarship coverage remains limited. RTI data showed that between 2021–22 and 2025–26, 9.7 lakh students applied for scholarships under various state govt schemes, but only 7.3 lakh received financial assistance.
The state govt implements scholarship schemes through the MahaDBT portal, developed by the information technology department in Mantralaya. Fourteen schemes are administered by various departments, but five account for most applications the Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Tuition Fee Scholarship, Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Hostel Maintenance Allowance Scheme, Eklavya Scholarship, the State Govt Sponsored Minority Scholarship and the State Open Merit Scholarship.
COPS president Amar Ekad said, "The govt has failed to ensure timely processing and disbursal of scholarships, resulting in financial uncertainty for deserving students." He demanded immediate action against colleges that have kept applications pending and called for stricter departmental monitoring. "Delays in scholarship approvals are forcing students from economically weaker sections to either borrow money or discontinue their education," he added.

Supreme Court Clarification on RTI Act Limitation: Act Cannot Be Used to Probe Suspension Orders

Indian Masterminds: New Delhi: Saturday, December 20, 2025.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that judicial officers should not use the RTI Act to uncover reasons for their suspension, highlighting proper disciplinary and administrative procedures for judges and emphasizing integrity within the judiciary.

In a significant observation touching both judicial conduct and administrative discipline within India’s legal system, the Supreme Court of India held that a serving judicial officer is not expected to invoke the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 to find out the reasons behind his suspension.
The apex court’s remarks emerged during a hearing in which a suspended judge sought a judicial review of his suspension order, as well as details regarding the administrative reasoning behind it.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, underscored that resorting to RTI in such circumstances reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the proper legal and administrative avenues available to judicial officers.
Background of Supreme Court Clarification on RTI Act Limitation
The Right to Information Act, enacted in 2005, is India’s flagship transparency law designed to empower citizens by enabling access to information held by public authorities.
Over the past two decades, the RTI Act has played a transformative role across governance and public accountability. However, its application within judicial administrative processes especially those that are internal or disciplinary has remained complex and nuanced.
Recently, this complexity became a subject of scrutiny when a Principal District and Sessions Judge from Panna, Madhya Pradesh, challenged his suspension and filed RTI requests seeking details of the administrative decision. The Supreme Court’s observations during the hearing highlight both the limits of RTI applicability and the expectations of conduct for judicial officers.
The petition in question involved Rajaram Bhartiya, a senior judicial officer who served as the Principal District and Sessions Judge in Panna. Bhartiya was placed under suspension on 19 November 2025, just days before his scheduled retirement.
According to the brief order on record, the suspension included a transfer of headquarters, allegedly to prevent tampering with evidence and ensure a fair enquiry.
Instead of pursuing administrative or judicial remedies, the petitioner submitted multiple applications under the RTI Act seeking the reasons for suspension, believing transparency through RTI would clarify the basis for the contested order.
The Supreme Court took strong objection to this approach, stating that an experienced judicial officer should not resort to RTI to obtain such information.
Key Supreme Court Observations on on RTI Act Limitation
RTI is Not the Correct Mechanism for Judicial Officers
The Supreme Court emphasized that the RTI Act is not intended to be a substitute for established administrative and disciplinary procedures applicable to members of the judiciary.
The bench highlighted that if the suspended judge had questions regarding the suspension, the appropriate route would have been to file a representation with the competent authority or challenge the order through proper judicial review processes.
The Court said:
> “The petitioner is said to have submitted applications under the Right to Information Act, 2005 to uncover the reason for his suspension. Adopting such a recourse is completely unheard of and is not expected from an officer with his experience.”
Representation Before High Court Preferred Over RTI
The apex court pointed out that representation before the originating High Court would have been a more constructive initial step than filing RTI requests.
This representation could have informed the judiciary regarding the reasons for suspension and facilitated either communication of reasons or initiation of disciplinary proceedings as per due process.
Growing Judicial Concern: “Trend of Hitting Sixes”
In the same hearing, the Supreme Court flagged what it described as a worrying trend in the judiciary judges passing a large number of orders just before retirement, analogized by CJI Surya Kant as “hitting sixes in the final overs of a cricket match”.
This comment, widely reported in legal media, reflects the Court’s concern about judicial conduct perceived to be driven by extraneous or ulterior motivations.
The bench remarked that while erroneous orders may be corrected through appellate processes, orders that are “palpably incorrect” or based on dishonest factors might merit disciplinary scrutiny.

By overriding RTI Act, new law triggers transparency concerns : Written by Amaal Sheikh

The Indian Express: Article: Saturday, December 20, 2025.
The issue with Section 39 is not that the N-power-related information can be withheld the RTI Act already permits this but the manner and finality of the exemption.

The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025 (SHANTI Bill) has come under criticism for explicitly overriding the Right to Information Act of 2005. Section 39, which deals with secrecy and disclosure of information, has been a major bone of contention.
What Section 39 says
Section 39 empowers the Centre to declare certain information as “restricted”. This includes “the location, quality and quantity of prescribed substance and transactions for their acquisitions…, or disposal…”, and information relating to “the theory, design, siting, construction and operation of nuclear power plant or reactor or plants for the treatment and production of any of the prescribed substance and for the separation of its isotopes”.
Restrictions also extend to regulatory interactions, covering “submissions made available to the Board or other regulatory bodies during the course of their work and declared as strategic, sensitive or confidential for business purpose by the applicant”.
The section states: “No person shall (a) disclose or obtain or attempt to obtain any restricted information; or (b) disclose, without authority of the Central Government, any information obtained in the discharge of any functions or performance of official duties under this Act.”
Section 39(4) states “Notwithstanding anything contained in the RTI Act, 2005, the information declared as restricted information or prohibited under this section shall be debarred from disclosure under the provisions of that Act”. In effect, once information is notified as restricted under Section 39, the RTI Act does not apply to it at all.
Current exemptions under RTI
The RTI Act, which was enacted to “promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority”, already contains limits on disclosure. Section 8 allows information to be withheld where disclosure would “prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence.”
The RTI Act also protects information covered by commercial confidence, trade secrets, fiduciary relationships, cabinet deliberations, and personal information. Section 9 allows rejection where disclosure would “involve infringement of copyright subsisting in a person other than the State”.
Crucially, Section 8(2) provides that “a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.”
The Atomic Energy Act of 1962 contained secrecy provisions, allowing the government to restrict disclosure of information relating to atomic energy plants and processes. However, these provisions predated the RTI Act.
After RTI came into force, in theory, transparency obligations prevailed unless an RTI exemption applied. The SHANTI Bill reverses that hierarchy.
Concerns regarding Section 39
The issue with Section 39 is not that the N-power-related information can be withheld the RTI Act already permits this but the manner and finality of the exemption. Under the RTI framework, exemptions are conditional; a public information officer must justify a denial, and that decision can be challenged through a first appeal, second appeal and information commissions or courts. The public interest override remains available throughout.
Section 39 removes this framework. Once information is notified as restricted, it is taken outside the scope of the RTI Act altogether. There is no balancing exercise, no appeal, and no opportunity to argue that public interest warrants disclosure.
Activist Anjali Bharadwaj told The Indian Express that Section 39 creates new secrecy categories that “attack the basic transparency law (RTI)”.
By excluding RTI, Section 39 could also deter whistleblowing and independent scrutiny in case of nuclear disasters, especially with private entities entering the sector.
Lastly, denials under the RTI Act can be challenged through statutory appeals. Under Section 39, “the RTI Act doesn’t apply at all, making it impossible to even ask for information and tracking secrecy to a whole new level.”

India Doesn’t Know How Many Foreigners With Expired Visas Are in the Country : By Rajeev Bhattacharyya

The Diplomat: South Asia: Friday, December 19, 2025.
The ministry has often resorted to knee-jerk reactions while tackling illegal immigration, best evidenced by its policies in Assam.

North Block which houses India’s Ministry of Home 

Affairs, in New Delhi, India.

Strange as it may seem, the Indian government does not have data on the number of foreign nationals from neighbouring countries who are overstaying in the country after their visas have expired.
In reply to an application under the Right to Information Act (RTI) seeking details about foreign nationals who have not returned to their countries after expiry of their visas, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that “data of such illegal immigrants/students from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives who have not returned to their countries after expiration of their visas between 2020-24 is not centrally available.”
Furthermore, the ministry, in its typical style of passing the buck, pointed out that the power to detect, restrict movement, and deport illegal immigrants has been delegated under existing laws to state governments and union territories.
“Hence, you may seek information directly from state governments/union territories,” the reply added.
The RTI application was sent by this correspondent in the backdrop of widespread rumors that many foreign nationals, especially from Bangladesh, have not returned to their countries after the expiry of their visas. On August 27, a special flight from Pune ferried 27 Bangladeshi nationals, who were found overstaying in the country, to West Bengal. They were deported to Bangladesh through the border.
Earlier, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that there were a large number of Bangladeshi citizens staying illegally in India, who were required to be deported. More serious has been the case of illegal immigrants in Assam who have vanished and evaded deportation after being convicted by the Foreigners’ Tribunals. The Assam government has claimed before the Supreme Court that 70,000 foreign nationals are untraceable.
That a wide and efficient network of touts facilitates illegal immigration into India is not in doubt.  The network also provides the immigrants with Aadhar and other documents, helping them settle safely across the country. This makes the task of detection for the police incredibly difficult. As such, the government’s inability to arrive at a precise figure about illegal immigrants in the country can be understood.
However, the government’s ignorance about the total number of foreign nationals who are overstaying in the country after expiry of their visas is unreasonable since the records are well-documented.
Former government officials engaged with security agencies have expressed diverse views on the home ministry’s reply to the RTI application.
Pallab Bhattacharya, former chief of Assam Police’s Special Branch, told The Diplomat that the home ministry’s reply represents a “tactical use of procedural formalism” to avoid substantive disclosure.
“The larger policy implication is troubling: If the Central Government genuinely lacks centralized data on visa overstayers despite statutory registration requirements and electronic tracking systems, it represents a serious failure in immigration monitoring a matter of national security concern far beyond this individual RTI application,” he said.
Bhattacharya added that the reply has several inconsistencies.
“The MHA issued detailed instructions in May 2025 to all State Governments and union territories, setting 30-day deadlines for verification and deportation of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar. These instructions require states to maintain records and share reports with the Centre on the 15th of every month. The Bureau of Immigration has been asked to publish lists of deportees on public portals and share data with UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), the Election Commission and the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs). The question is, if MHA is collecting monthly reports from states since May 2025, how can it claim in December 2025 that centralized data is unavailable?”
Another official who had served with a central security agency five years ago expressed the opinion that the ministry is reluctant to share information for two reasons.
“First, it could mean diversion of resources and spending time to draw up a list from which there is no gain. And secondly, the ministry knows that several provisions provide a shield against sharing all kinds of information, even if they are not sensitive,” he claimed.
The ministry has often resorted to knee-jerk reactions while tackling illegal immigration, best evidenced by its policies in Assam. Last May, an Assamese Muslim woman, Sakina Begum, was deported to Bangladesh after being declared a foreigner by a Foreigner Tribunal (FT) in October 2012 and interned in a detention camp till her release on bail as per an order of the Supreme Court in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the MHA issued a controversial directive to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) Secretariat in Assam to issue ‘rejection slips’ to people delisted from the register. The order did not conform to the laws and procedures laid down for the completion of the exercise.
These incidents indicate the confusion that prevails in the ministry on certain issues and regions of the country. The muddle is the result of several anomalies, including the lack of long-term planning.

Judicial Officer Not Expected to Use RTI Act to Know Reasons for Suspension: Supreme Court

Moneylife: New Delhi: Friday, December 19, 2025.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday remarked that a judicial officer was not expected to file requests under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to uncover the reasons for his suspension.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi made the observation while declining to interfere with the suspension of Rajaram Bhartiya, the Principal District and Sessions Judge of Panna in Madhya Pradesh.
“The petitioner is said to have submitted applications under the Right to Information Act, 2005 to uncover the reason for his suspension. Adopting such a recourse is completely unheard of and is not expected from an officer with his experience,” the Court said.
The Bench further observed that Bhartiya ought to have submitted a representation to the competent authority against the suspension order, which would have enabled the High Court “either to convey the reason of suspension and or to formally initiate the disciplinary proceedings as contemplated in the suspension order itself.”
The Court was hearing a petition filed by Bhartiya challenging the November 19 order placing him under suspension.
The suspension order recorded that he was placed under suspension with immediate effect and that his headquarters were changed “to prevent the possibility of tampering with the evidence and witnesses and to ensure a free and fair enquiry.”
Bhartiya is a member of the Madhya Pradesh Higher Judicial Services who joined service as a Civil Judge Class II in 1994 and was promoted as an Additional District Judge in 2009. He was then elevated as a Principal District Judge in 2022.
He would have retired on November 30 but Supreme Court's earlier order directing the Madhya Pradesh government to enhance the retirement age of judicial officers to at least 61 years means he would now retire in November 2026.
While declining to stay the suspension, the top court on Wednesday granted liberty to Bhartiya to submit a comprehensive representation to the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking recall of the suspension or any other relief as per the rules.
The High Court was directed to take an appropriate decision on the representation as early as possible, but not later than four weeks.
During the hearing, the counsel for Bhartiya submitted that a judicial order cannot be the basis for suspension. It was argued that he could have been transferred instead.
The plea stated that Bhartiya's a judicial order - setting aside a penalty imposed by the Panna Collector in an illegal mining case - was the alleged reason behind his suspension.
CJI Kant questioned why the judge had passed such order before his retirement.
“Did he issue notice? What if he [judge] makes a palpable incorrect order? Why before retirement he passed this? This is becoming a growing trend now when these kinds of orders are passed before retirement. He started hitting sixers just a fortnight away from retirement," the Court remarked.
Courtesy: Bar & Bench

Supriya Sule asks why RTI is partially not allowed in SHANTI bill if it involves private players

New Indian Express: New Delhi: Thursday, 18 December 2025.
NCP (Sharad Pawar) MP Supriya Sule raised a slew of concerns over the new the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill (SHANTI Bill), which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17. Supriya questioned the government on privatising the PSU of Nuclear Power Corporation of India, when it is profitable.

Supriya also highlighted that the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005 is partially not allowed in the new bill. She said this undermined transparency, and the national security argument will not apply since private players are involved. Dr. Jitendra Singh the Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy introduced the bill in the upper house.

Government proposes RTI restrictions on SHANTI Bill : By Chetan Chauhan

 Hindustan Times: New Delhi: Thursday, 18 December 2025.
The SHANTI Bill allows private nuclear energy involvement but restricts sharing of "restricted" info under RTI, raising transparency and public safety concerns.

The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill that aims to allow private sector in nuclear energy debars sharing of any information declared as “restricted” by the Central government under the watershed Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The proposed law under section 39 prevents sharing of any information that is “detrimental to national security or public interest” and provides for specifics of the restricted information.
The sub-sections say restricted information includes location, quality and quantity of prescribed substance and transactions for their acquisition, anything about design and operation of the nuclear power plant, research and technological work on materials and processing.
It also prevents sharing of “photograph, plan or model” of the nuclear power plant and related to any process in the plant.
In addition to it, the sub-section also provides that “submissions made available to the (Atomic Energy) Board or other regulatory bodies during the course of their work and declared as strategic, sensitive or confidential for business purpose by the application” would be restricted.
The proposed bill also gives powers to the Central government to “prohibit” publication of any information related to nuclear power through a notification. It also says that any information declared “restricted” or “prohibited” under the law cannot be disclosed under the Right to Information Act.
With this, the Central government has imposed restriction on the RTI use without amending the transparency act. In the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, the government had restricted sharing of personal information of any personal citing privacy regulations.
During discussion on the bill in the lower house, Supriya Sule (NCP-SP) asked the government why restrictions on the RTI Act has been imposed through the SHANTI Bill. “When private players are being allowed where does the question of national security come,” she said during discussion on the proposed law.
The proposed bill also gives powers to the Central government to “prohibit” publication of any information related to nuclear power through a notification. It also says that any information declared “restricted” or “prohibited” under the law cannot be disclosed under the Right to Information Act.
With this, the Central government has imposed restriction on the RTI use without amending the transparency act. In the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, the government had restricted sharing of personal information of any personal citing privacy regulations.
During discussion on the bill in the lower house, Supriya Sule (NCP-SP) asked the government why restrictions on the RTI Act has been imposed through the SHANTI Bill. “When private players are being allowed where does the question of national security come,” she said during discussion on the proposed law.

RTI activists produce fresh response to challenge cop action over Pandian security

Times of India: Bhubaneswar: Wednesday, 17 December 2025.
Three RTI campaigners, who were booked by city police in 2024 for allegedly circulating “fake and misleading” information about the security cover of ex-CM Naveen Patnaik’s aide and former BJD member V K Pandian, have now produced fresh information to challenge the police action against them.

“Police accused us of spreading lies even though the information we shared was obtained through RTI regarding Pandian’s security cover. On Nov 11, we again sought the same details from the commissionerate police. The reply we received matched the earlier one. This clearly proves we were falsely implicated, only because Pandian was highly influential,” said RTI campaigner Prakash Das.
According to the RTI response, Pandian was provided with 2 personal security officers, 1 havildar, 4 armed police reserve personnel as house guards, 1-4 escorts in a vehicle during road journeys, 4 women constables, and 1 section force. All of these were sanctioned by the previous BJD govt.
In April 2024, Saheed Nagar police registered a case against Das, Srikant Pakal and Pradip Pradhan, days after they released a letter at a press conference detailing Pandian’s security cover. Then police commissioner Sanjeeb Panda called the letter “forged” and denied that such information was ever provided by the commissionerate police. Subsequently, a case was filed against the trio.

Relief under RTI Act for woman who was deprived of land ownership

The Hindu: Chennai: Wednesday, 17 December 2025.
After a decade’s struggle to get her property back, the victim approached TNIC for relief, State Chief Information Commissioner Md. Shakeel Akhter directed Narayani to approach the District Registrar, Chengalpattu, with all relevant documents for registration of her land.

More than a decade after her agricultural land was erroneously recorded as temple property, abruptly depriving her of ownership, a woman turned to the Right to Information (RTI) Act to uncover the truth.
In 2012, S. Narayani of Chennai, was shocked to know her ancestral land measuring 75 cents at Tiruporur in Chengalpattu district had been shown in the encumbrance certificate as property belonging to the Arulmigu Kandaswamy Temple, Tiruporur.
Along with her son, S. Rajkumar, Ms. Narayani approached officials of the Revenue, Registration, and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) departments seeking an explanation as to how the family’s private land was listed as temple property. However, their repeated representations evoked no response from the officials.
“We had all the land records such as parent documents, patta, chitta and other revenue certificates to establish our ownership. But the officials could not produce a single document to justify how our land was shown as government property. They refused to entertain our request to change the records based on facts,” Mr. Rajkumar said.
No response to RTI Act plea
With no relief forthcoming, Ms. Narayani filed an RTI Act application in 2022 with the District Registrar-cum-Public Information Officer (PIO), Chengalpattu, seeking details on how the ownership of her land had been altered. When the application drew no response, she moved an appeal before the Tamil Nadu Information Commission (TNIC) the following year.
When the matter came up before State Chief Information Commissioner Md. Shakeel Akhter, he summoned the PIOs of the three departments and directed them to explain how private patta lands in Survey Nos. 56/1, 56/3 and 56/5 had been converted into temple property, and to produce supporting documents.
Though the officials initially maintained the lands belonged to the temple, they failed to furnish any records to substantiate their claim.
Wrong entries acknowledged
After several adjournments spanning over two years, the Registration Department’s PIO submitted a report stating that mistakes and erroneous entries had been made in 2007. The officials responsible had since retired, the report said, and no action could be initiated against them.
The PIO further informed the Commission that the petitioner could approach the appropriate authorities for registration of the property, provided there was no objection from the Revenue Department regarding the genuineness of the patta or any pending litigation.
Passing orders after hearing both sides, Mr. Shakeel Akhter directed Ms. Narayani to approach the District Registrar, Chengalpattu, with all relevant documents for registration of her land, a move that would restore her ownership and rights over the property.

RK Goyal takes oath as CIC; watchdog at full strength after 9 years

 Business Standard: New Delhi: Tuesday, 16 December 2025.
The Central Information Commission has attained full strength after nine years following the appointment of a new chief and eight information commissioners, amid concerns over backlog and transparency

President Droupadi Murmu with newly sworn-in CIC
Raj Kumar Goyal (Photo: PTI)

After a gap of nine years, transparency watchdog, the Central Information Commission, has returned to full strength with the appointment of former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Raj Kumar Goyal as chief information commissioner (CIC) and eight other information commissioners, all of whom took the oath of office on Monday.
The post of CIC had fallen vacant after Heeralal Samariya completed his term on September 13. The Commission is headed by a CIC and can have up to 10 information commissioners. With the latest appointments, the body has reached full strength for the first time in more than nine years, transparency activists said.
Right to Information activists Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johari said the Centre appointed the CIC and eight information commissioners “after repeated directions of the Supreme Court to fill vacancies”. They said the Supreme Court, since December 2018, had in multiple orders directed the filling of all vacancies in view of the large backlog of appeals and complaints before the Commission. The watchdog will finally function at full strength after December 2016, they said. The backlog currently exceeds 31,000 appeals and complaints, and it takes more than a year for a matter to be heard by the Commission, according to the activists, who were petitioners in a related Supreme Court case.
The Supreme Court, in its 2019 judgment and subsequent orders, had also directed the government to ensure transparency in the appointment process for information commissioners under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. “We are constrained to note that important information such as the short-listing criteria adopted by the search committee and the list of applicants and short-listed candidates was not placed in the public domain,” Bhardwaj and Johari said in a statement.
A three-member panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week recommended the names of the Chief Information Commissioner and eight information commissioners for appointment. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Goyal as CIC at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Later, in the presence of two incumbent information commissioners, Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Kumar Tiwari, Goyal administered the oath of office to the eight new appointees.
Goyal is a retired 1990-batch IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre. He superannuated on August 31 as secretary in the Department of Justice under the Ministry of Law and Justice. He has also served as secretary (border management) in the Ministry of Home Affairs and held key positions at the Centre and in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The eight information commissioners include former Railway Board chair Jaya Verma Sinha; former Indian Police Service officer Swagat Das, who held senior roles in the Intelligence Bureau, the Home Ministry and the Cabinet Secretariat; Central Secretariat Service officer Sanjeev Kumar Jindal; former IAS officer Surendra Singh Meena; and former Indian Forest Service officer Khushwant Singh Sethi. Senior journalists P R Ramesh and Ashutosh Chaturvedi, and former Indian Legal Service officer Sudha Rani Relangi, have also been sworn in as information commissioners.
The names of the CIC and the eight information commissioners were cleared at a meeting of the Modi-led selection committee, which included Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. The Congress leader flagged the lack of representation from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes among the shortlisted candidates.

How RTI activists keep the law alive : Shamsul Bari, Ruhi Naz

The Daily Star: Bangladesh: Tuesday, 16 December 2025.

The absence of Bangladesh's three information commissioners vacancies that, almost a year and a half on have left the Right to Information (RTI) regime severely debilitated, with replacements still inexplicably pending. However, instead of lamenting about it today, let's learn how the country's dedicated RTI activists our "RTI warriors" are coping with the situation. Trained over the years by a handful of committed NGOs, these individuals are locally recognised for helping people use the law to promote transparency and oversight in governance. In the absence of a functioning information commission, their work has become riskier and more complex, demanding greater perseverance and strategic acuity.
Encouragingly, although some have grown disheartened and stepped back, a significant number continue with remarkable determination and tenacity. Rather than retreating in the face of bureaucratic inertia, these RTI warriors have adopted a strategy of persistence: signalling to public officials that even without formal oversight citizens remain vigilant, committed to monitoring public services, and prepared to demand accountability.
The experiences they shared several of which will be mentioned later show how ordinary citizens have continued to use the RTI Act not only to resolve immediate problems but also to signal institutional scrutiny, promote transparency, and sustain civic pressure on authorities. These examples demonstrate the power of citizen engagement, even when institutional support is temporarily lacking, and offer critical insights into the resilience, strategies and impact of Bangladesh's RTI movement.
The following case studies highlight how RTI has been used to ensure public health accountability, protect infrastructure, and safeguard citizens' rights despite the challenges posed by a dormant information commission.
Ensuring public health accountability
In June 2025, Mukta Akter used the RTI Act to address the denial of free medicines to her sick brother at Jaldhaka Sadar Hospital in Nilphamari district. Despite entitlement under government policy, hospital staff told her to buy medicines privately and responded dismissively when questioned.
Mukta, trained in RTI law by an NGO, filed an RTI application requesting (i) lists of medicines provided by the hospital and those purchased externally, and (ii) the hospital's annual government allocation for medicines for FY2024-2025.
Fearing scrutiny, the hospital immediately provided all required medicines free of cost, corrected staff behaviour, and improved procedures demonstrating RTI's power to secure services, enforce transparency, and catalyse institutional reform while strengthening public trust.
Protecting public infrastructure
In Sarkar Para, Nilphamari Sadar upazila, residents were isolated after a private landowner illegally excavated a pond beside an unpaved road, which then collapsed during heavy rain. Trespass over adjoining private land by the neighbouring population became impossible when the owner blocked access. The excavation violated buffer requirements and provisions of the Penal Code, 1860, and the Land-related Offences Prevention and Remedy Act (LCPRA), 2021.
On November 26, 2025, RTI-savvy residents filed applications with the Nilphamari Settlement Office and the assistant commissioner (Land), seeking mouza maps and khatiyan records to establish the road's legal status. Confirmation of the land as public triggered the AC (Land)'s obligations under the LCPRA to investigate, issue recovery orders, and complete remedial action within three months. The case illustrates RTI's value as a non-judicial tool for evidence-gathering and administrative accountability, enabling communities to protect infrastructure and enforce legal remedies efficiently.
The deterrent power of RTI
On September 29, 2025, following a severe accidental electrocution, Dayal Chandra Roy's son was admitted to Nilphamari Sadar Hospital. Although entitled to free treatment, the attending doctor demanded that the father supply a required utensil and purchase medicines externally. After an altercation on the matter, the doctor abruptly referred the child elsewhere for treatment.
Aggrieved by the doctor's decision, the father, with support from a local RTI advocate, threatened to file an RTI application, signalling scrutiny of the denial of treatment, the availability of medicines, and the doctor's administrative conduct. The hospital superintendent intervened immediately: care continued uninterrupted, regular updates were ordered, and the doctor and nurse apologised. The episode demonstrates RTI's deterrent effect compelling responsible conduct and reinforcing transparency under the prospect of legal oversight.
These cases show the continuing, practical power of the RTI Act, 2009 even without a fully operational information commission. Strategically invoked, RTI enables citizens to secure essential services, correct administrative failures, protect public assets, and hold officials to account. They also testify to the resilience, creativity and impact of Bangladesh's RTI activists in promoting transparency, safeguarding rights, and reinforcing institutional accountability.
We hope the interim government now preparing for a free and fair general election will heed citizens' aspirations for transparent, accountable governance, as illustrated earlier, and promptly revitalise the RTI regime and advance a more robust, citizen-friendly RTI law. It is equally fundamental that all political parties seeking a mandate to govern uphold and promote the RTI Act as a cornerstone of good governance and participatory democracy.
(Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz are chairman and deputy director (RTI), respectively, at Research Initiatives, Bangladesh (RIB). They can be reached at rib@citech-bd.com.)

Former bureaucrat Goyal takes oath asCIC; eight commissioners also sworn in : By Vrinda Tulsian

 Hindustan Times: New Delhi: Tuesday, 16 December 2025.
Former IAS officer Raj Kumar Goyal assumed charge as the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on Monday, while eight other information commissioners took the oath of office, bringing the Central Information Commission to its full sanctioned strength after a gap after several years.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Goyal at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Vice President CP Radhakrishnan was also present at the ceremony.
Goyal, a 1990-batch (retired) IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre, superannuated as secretary, Department of Justice under the Ministry of Law and Justice, on August 31. He has earlier served as secretary (border management) in the ministry of home affairs and held senior positions in the Centre and in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The post of CIC fell vacant after Heeralal Samariya completed his term on September 13.
The eight new information commissioners are former Railway Board chairman and chief executive officer Jaya Varma Sinha; former Indian Police Service officer Swagat Das, who served in the Intelligence Bureau, the home ministry and the cabinet secretariat; central secretariat service officer Sanjeev Kumar Jindal; former IAS officer Surendra Singh Meena; and former Indian Forest Service officer Khushwant Singh Sethi. Senior journalists P R Ramesh and Ashutosh Chaturvedi, and former Indian Legal Service officer Sudha Rani Relangi, have also been sworn in as information commissioners.
The appointments fill all sanctioned posts in the Commission. Under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the Central Information Commission is headed by a Chief Information Commissioner and can have up to 10 Information Commissioners. The Commission functions as the final appellate authority for RTI matters involving central public authorities, Union ministries, departments and public sector undertakings.
At various points in recent years, the Commission had been functioning with multiple vacancies, contributing to delays in the hearing and disposal of RTI appeals and complaints, according to data placed before Parliament and disclosures by the Commission.
A three-member panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommended their names for the appointment last week.
Gandhi recorded a note of dissent during the meeting of the selection panel, officials said. In his dissent, Gandhi raised concerns over the composition of the shortlisted candidates and sought details on social representation among applicants. He stated that the list did not adequately reflect representation from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Economically Backward Classes and minority communities, and submitted his objections in writing.
Government officials, however, said the selection process was carried out in accordance with the prescribed procedure and that the committee finalised the appointments after considering eligible candidates and institutional requirements.
The appointments come amid continued scrutiny of the functioning of information commissions following amendments to the RTI Act in 2019, which changed the tenure and service conditions of Information Commissioners and vested the Union government with the power to notify these through rules. Opposition parties and civil society groups have raised concerns in Parliament and outside over the impact of vacancies and appointment processes on the implementation of the transparency law.

RTI में जानकारी न देने पर सोसायटी प्रबंधक पर जुर्माना:राज्य सूचना आयोग ने 30 हजार रुपए का फाइन लगाया

Dainik Bhaskar: Dhar: Monday, 15 December 2025.

मध्य प्रदेश राज्य सूचना आयोग ने RTI अधिनियम की अनदेखी और गंभीर लापरवाही पर कड़ी कार्रवाई करते हुए आदिम जाति सेवा सहकारी समिति बरमंडल के प्रबंधक पर 30 हजार रुपए का जुर्माना लगाया है। खास बात यह है कि किसी सोसायटी प्रबंधक पर RTI मामले में इस स्तर की कार्रवाई प्रदेश में पहली बार हुई है।
यह मामला RTI कार्यकर्ता श्रीराम मारू द्वारा मांगी गई जानकारी से शुरू हुआ था। समिति के लोक सूचना अधिकारी—यानी प्रबंधक—ने न सिर्फ तय समय-सीमा में सूचना उपलब्ध नहीं कराई, बल्कि प्रथम अपील में भी सुनवाई नहीं हुई। मामला जब राज्य सूचना आयोग पहुंचा, तो यहां भी आदेश का पालन नहीं किया गया। आयोग ने स्पष्ट निर्देश दिए थे कि अपीलकर्ता को निशुल्क सूचना दी जाए, लेकिन प्रबंधक ने इसे भी नजरअंदाज कर दिया।
फर्जी साइन कर पत्र जमा किया
जांच आगे बढ़ी तो कहानी और चौंकाने वाली निकली। आयोग की सुनवाई में खुलासा हुआ कि प्रबंधक ने अपीलकर्ता के फर्जी हस्ताक्षर कर एक संतुष्टि पत्र जमा कराया था, ताकि मामला बंद हो सके। हस्ताक्षर मिलान में यह चाल पकड़ी गई, और आयोग ने इसे गंभीर धोखाधड़ी मानते हुए प्रबंधक के सभी तर्कों को खारिज कर दिया।
1 दिसंबर 2025 को हुई सुनवाई में आयोग ने दोनों प्रकरणों में कुल 30 हजार रुपए का जुर्माना लगाने का आदेश दिया। जुर्माने की राशि एक माह के भीतर जमा कर संबंधित जानकारी सहकारिता आयुक्त एवं पंजीयक संस्थाएं, भोपाल को भेजना अनिवार्य किया गया है। साथ ही प्रबंधक की सेवा पुस्तिका में भी इस कार्रवाई का उल्लेख दर्ज करने के निर्देश दिए गए हैं।
अधिकारियों को दी चेतावनी
प्रथम अपीलीय अधिकारी को भी आयोग ने कड़ी चेतावनी दी है कि आगे से ऐसे मामलों का समय पर और नियमों के अनुसार निराकरण किया जाए, अन्यथा उन्हें भी अनुशासनात्मक दंड का सामना करना पड़ेगा।
RTI कार्यकर्ता श्रीराम मारू का कहना है कि वे पिछले 11 वर्षों से सोसायटियों से जुड़ी जानकारी जनहित में मांगते आ रहे हैं, लेकिन विभाग अक्सर इसे RTI के दायरे से बाहर बताकर जानकारी देने से बचता रहा। उन्होंने उम्मीद जताई कि इस कार्रवाई के बाद अब आम लोगों को भी सोसायटियों से पारदर्शी जानकारी मिलने का रास्ता आसान होगा।

India’s new data law sparks fears of reduced transparency on Christian persecution

 Counterview: National: Monday, 15 December 2025.
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, passed by the Indian Parliament in 2023, came fully into force in November this year, triggering alarm bells among civil society and minority rights groups, who fear it will make their work very difficult, if not impossible.

This comes at a crucial time in the country, where free speech and expression have come under increasing pressure from the federal government led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent, the powerful Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS or national volunteer corps).
A roundtable called in the national capital this week on threats to information and privacy discussed legal and parliamentary ways to secure specific exemptions and strengthen whistleblower protections.
Participants noted how a law ostensibly meant to protect privacy had been weaponized against citizens, especially minorities and the marginalized.
One of the most significant effects of the new law is the way it cripples the pathbreaking Right to Information Act (RTI), which was passed in 2005 by the Congress-led coalition government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government effectively removed the RTI’s core Section 8(1)(J), which allowed personal information of public servants to be disclosed if it served public interest, such as exposing corruption or human rights abuses.
The amendment replaced this with a simple rule: “Information which relates to personal information” shall not be disclosed. This removes the public-interest exception and has serious consequences for transparency and accountability, especially for religious minorities like India’s 28 million Christians who rely on RTI to document persecution and official wrongdoing.
This public-interest clause was crucial. It helped activists and citizens obtain names and actions of police officers who refused to register First Information Reports (FIRs) in attacks on churches, records of their phone calls with vigilante groups, lists of beneficiaries excluded from government schemes, especially Dalit Christians, and status updates on investigations into hate crimes.
This is the sort of information that Christian groups need for public interest litigation in state high courts and the Supreme Court of India to substantiate allegations of persecution and the denial of rights to people who converted from Hindu castes once deemed “untouchable,” who still face exclusion in society, particularly in rural India.
After the digital law’s amendment, this public-interest exception was summarily removed. Now, any information classified as personal information is exempt from RTI disclosure, no matter how important it is for public accountability or human rights.
Legal experts, minority rights groups, civil society organizations, and former federal information officials have called this the biggest setback to the RTI Act since 2005.
The government claims the RTI Act still allows disclosure when public interest outweighs harm, but in practice, the new wording in the digital law takes precedence. Public authorities routinely reject requests citing the law, and appeals have increased sharply.
This has grave implications for the Christian community as well as Muslims.
Christian persecution in India has been rising. Independent groups have recorded many incidents. The United Christian Forum (UCF) helpline received 731 cases in 2024 and 672 in the first ten months of this year. The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) reported 223 incidents from January to July this year, and Persecution Relief confirmed 640 cases in 2024 and projects over 800 so far this year.
These figures depend on field visits, victim statements, FIR copies, court documents, and RTI replies. The new digital law now blocks or criminalizes several of these sources.
The Catholic Church and the National Council of Churches in India, comprising Protestant denominations, do not independently monitor persecution but use the data of the monitoring groups mentioned above.
There has been widespread consternation internationally. The Open Doors World Watch List ranked India 11th this year, with extreme persecution in at least 26 states. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended India remain a “country of particular concern” for the sixth consecutive year.
The Indian government routinely rejects such international data, calling it interference in the internal affairs of a democratic country.
Besides minorities, equally if not more dangerous, is the threat the new digital law poses to activists and journalists who are deemed to be “data fiduciaries.”
In fact, anyone who collects personal data systematically — names, photos, national identity numbers, phone records, testimonies — for reporting or advocacy becomes a “data fiduciary” under the new law.
Unless they get clear consent from every person whose data they collect, limit data collection, and allow people to withdraw consent or ask for deletion, they face hefty fines.
This creates serious problems in persecution cases. Victims often fear giving written consent because it could lead to reprisals. Perpetrators and complicit officials will never consent. Anonymized data cannot prove patterns of bias or repeated offences by named perpetrators.
Perpetrators or officials supporting them can now use the law to harass activists and groups. Several NGOs have already received notices under the new law, even before its rules were finalized.
For Dalit Christians, the RTI Act was the main tool to prove ongoing discrimination against them, but this route is now largely closed.
In tribal-dominated states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Manipur, attacks on Christians have risen. RTI replies that could show police refusing to act or supplying arms to village defence committees are no longer available.
Anti-conversion laws in 12 Indian states require permission for religious conversions and place the burden of proof on the accused. RTI was used to show that 90–95 percent of cases end in acquittal or closure in courts, demonstrating misuse of these laws. Now, such statistics are hard to obtain.
In Manipur, ethnic violence since May 2023 has damaged or destroyed over 5,000 churches and displaced more than 60,000 Kuki-Zo Christians. RTI replies previously proved that police arms reached militias. Similar queries are now rejected.
The Editors Guild of India and Digital News Publishers Association stated in October 2025 that the lack of clear journalistic exemptions makes reporting on communal violence legally risky. Many mainstream media outlets have stopped naming perpetrators or police officers in their reports on minority attacks, citing legal concerns.
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the UK’s Data Protection Act 2018 include clear exemptions for journalism, academic, artistic, or literary expression when done in the public interest.
The new Indian law has no such exemption, despite repeated civil society requests during consultations from 2018 to 2023.

TN public universities face over 40% staff vacancies, RTI data shows

The News Minute: Tamil Nadu: Monday, 15 December 2025.
More than 40% of sanctioned faculty positions, including those of professor, associate professor, and assistant professor, in 12 of 21 public universities in Tamil Nadu are lying vacant, according to RTI data and a representation to the state government by TANFUFA.

While a legal battle with the Union government has prevented the Tamil Nadu government from appointing vice-chancellors in many public universities, the institutions themselves currently face a major academic crisis due to rising vacancies in teaching staff.
More than 40% of sanctioned faculty positions, including those of professor, associate professor, and assistant professor, in 12 of 21 state universities are lying vacant, according to data sourced through Right to Information (RTI) Act applications in April 2025 and a representation submitted by the Tamil Nadu Federation of Universities Faculty Association (TANFUFA) to the state government on October 27.
In the remaining nine universities, the vacancies are in the 15-40% range, the data states. The universities include those under the higher education, health, law, and animal husbandry ministries.
In the 168-year-old University of Madras, 65% of sanctioned teaching posts are vacant. The corresponding numbers for Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University (TNDALU) is 46%, followed by Tamil Nadu Open University (53%), Anna University (45.44%), Bharathidasan University in Tiruchirapalli (49.57%) and Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tirunelveli (50%), the data shows.
The vacancies are set to swell with the impending retirement of a few more faculty, the universities indicated in their RTI responses.
Analysis of the data shows that the overall vacancy percentage would look a lot worse if not for significant appointments in the assistant professor scale, most of which were made in 2014 the last major recruitment drive conducted by state universities.
The RTI response also reveals that some universities even have departments functioning without a single permanent teaching faculty. For instance, in TNDALU, the departments of Human Rights and Duties Education, Crime and Forensic Law and Property Law don’t have a single professor.
Similarly, TNOU has 10 such departments, the Tamil University in Thanjavur has two and the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University has one.
A senior professor at the University of Madras said that the usual procedure after a faculty member retires is for the vice-chancellor to recruit new staff through due procedure.
However, owing to the precarious financial position of universities, vice-chancellors have been asked to take prior sanctions from the state government. The recruitment is approved only if financially viable, the professor said. He added that in the last few years, even recruitment proposals have come to a standstill, as many universities do not have vice-chancellors.
Multiple professors TNM spoke to said that departments frequently function with only one or two permanent faculty members. Professors say they are managing the situation by hiring faculty on a contract basis.
Alternatively, departments have been merged and as a stop-gap solution, professors from other disciplines have been “deputed” to manage understaffed departments.
For instance, at Madurai Kamarajar University (MKU), a journalism professor was asked to head the School of Economics, while a sociology professor headed the School of Education, a serving academic said.
Bharatidasan University runs 32 departments but has just four faculty in the rank of professor. TNOU has a sanctioned strength of 11 professors but has only two. Similarly, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University has only three professors against a sanctioned strength of 18, while Alagappa University in Karaikudi has only seven professors out of 31 sanctioned positions.
To tide over the vacancies, Anna University recently hired 20 retired professors as professors emeritus and has planned to recruit “professors of practice” from the industry.
Multiple serving and retired academics from across Tamil Nadu said that such a state of affairs has directly impacted the quality of teaching, research output, and other allied activities like the development of syllabi and curricula.
If this were to continue, it would eventually be detrimental to the growth and ranking of the institutions, affect the overall academic climate and weaken the higher education system in the state, they further said.
In some cases, the faculty shortage has affected the number of courses offered by the institute. For instance, the number of courses offered by TNOU has dropped from 80 in 2017 to just 30 now, a serving academic said.
The impact
Understanding how faculty vacancies affect universities requires a glimpse into their roles.
According to former vice-chancellor of University of Madras P Duraisamy, university professors must conduct and drive cutting-edge research, guide PhD scholars, conduct classes for postgraduate students, steer academic excellence by playing a crucial part in the drafting of university curriculum and syllabus, and oversee the affiliation process of colleges.
Duraisamy said that the UGC recommends a faculty strength of at least one professor, two associates and two to three assistant professors in departments that offer PG courses.
Currently, departments facing a shortfall are hiring lecturers on a contract basis, which brings down the quality, given their inexperience and comparatively lesser exposure, he added. The contract lecturers are also ineligible for research grants or guideship, Duraisamy also said.
Multiple professors TNM spoke to echoed how vacancies have translated into longer teaching hours, which eats into the time they allocate for research and guideship.
A senior professor in a southern Tamil Nadu university said his teaching hours have increased from the mandated 14 hours a week to around 20. “Professors are overstretched and working beyond class hours to manage guideship, their own research which might include travel, and other professional commitments,” he said.
Additionally, the shortfall in senior faculty translates into fewer available PhD guides, which burdens serving professors. “Guiding five research scholars at a time is sustainable. But currently professors are taking on more scholars and are unable to provide quality guidance,” said a senior professor of a Chennai-based university.
Duraisamy said that the quality and quantity of research output is important for a university, as it brings in funds through grants and has a bearing on ranking underscoring the repercussions of inexperienced faculty members.
Additionally, university professors also work with decision-making bodies like the Board of Studies (BoS), affiliation committees, etc., to draft the curriculum and syllabus followed by affiliated colleges.
“Experienced professors can bring the latest trends and developments into the curriculum and syllabus followed by affiliated colleges. Assistant professors or guest faculty may not be able to contribute similarly due to limited exposure and experience,” Duraisamy said.
The state government’s plan
While Higher Education secretary P Shankar IAS declined to comment, saying he was busy, sources from multiple universities said the government had collected data and has planned to fill the vacancies through a unified recruitment process via the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB). Similarly, the non-teaching faculty vacancies will be filled through the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC), the sources added.
This impending move has not gone down well with university professors, as they feel it undermines the institute’s academic and administrative independence. Historically, universities have recruited their staff through independent advertisements and interviews after approval from the vice-chancellor and administrative bodies like the syndicate.
An omnibus recruitment would also not be in line with the specific talent required by each university’s customised positions for interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary posts, professors said.
For example, a professor at a university in central Tamil Nadu pointed out how a zoology degree offered by an institute in a coastal district would include topics on the marine ecosystem, while one offered by a landlocked district like Coimbatore would incorporate topics from forest ecologies.
Similarly, a university offering a bioelectronics course would want the selection panel to include subject experts from physics and chemistry. The professor questioned if a unified agency like the TRB would be able to incorporate such nuances in their selection process.
The bogey of private universities
Academics are also worried that a drop in standards in public universities would gradually shift students towards private universities, which, apart from attracting the best academic talent, are also advantaged by relaxed retirement rules for faculty.
“In Tamil Nadu, the retirement age for professors is 60 years, while in a private university it is 65. This means that the best and most experienced minds from Tamil Nadu’s public education system are hired by private institutes for prestigious posts which add to their brand value and ranking,” three serving and retired professors told TNM.
TANFUFA’s representation to the Tamil Nadu government cites the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments’ recent decisions to raise the retirement age of professors to 65, urging a similar move in the state. This would ensure continued academic excellence, quality mentoring and research productivity in public universities, the representation said.
Emphasising the need to strengthen public universities, Duraisamy told TNM that private universities usually only run courses that are commercially viable, but the state has a duty to offer courses that shape public discourse and serve a social need, such as anthropology, archaeology, and history.