The
Times of India: Kochi: Wednesday, November 07, 2012.
A petition in
the Kerala high court has challenged the hearing of RTI appeals by the State
Information Commission, headed by a non-judicial member, despite a Supreme
Court ruling that the commission should be headed by a judicial member.
The
commission is headed by Sibi Mathews, an IPS officer and former director
general of police, now.
The petition,
filed by advocate Basil Attipetty, points out that the apex court had ordered
on September 13 that henceforth all information commissions should work as
benches consisting of two members each, with one member from a judicial
background.
Though the
State Information Commission had called off hearings subsequent to the apex
court's order, it had resumed functioning based on an opinion provided by the
state government's legal department.
The Supreme
Court had also suggested that present or former chief justices of high courts
and judges of the apex court should be preferred for the post of chief
information commissioner. While appointing information commissioners, judges or
former judges of the high courts should be given priority, the court had
suggested.
The apex
court had also ordered that the appointment of judicial members to information
commissions should be made in consultation with the chief justice of India and
chief justices of the high courts, as the case may be.
It also said
the department of personnel and training of the Union government should prepare
a panel after giving advertisements.
The
appointment of information commissioner at the Centre and state levels should
be made from the panel by the department, it had ordered.
The
petitioner approached the high court after finding no response from the state
government on a representation seeking implementation of the apex court's
order.
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