Economic
Times: New Delhi: Wednesday, 06 January 2016.
Call it
ironical or plain bureaucratic secrecy, the government does not want to share
the details of appointment of new Chief Information Commissioner RK Mathur.
Anjali
Bhardwaj of National Campaign for People's Right to Information had filed an
application under Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking details of the
appointment process including names of people considered, number of
applications received, file notings and whether a search committee was formed.
Though the government had appointed former defence secretary R K Mathur as the
new chief on December 19, the department of personnel and training refused to
divulge the information saying "The decision is not yet over".
In its reply
dated December 28, nine days after the decision was taken and announced by
minister Jitender Singh, cites Section 8 (1) (i) to justify the secrecy. It
says, "... papers related.. are exempted under Section 8 (1) Ii) and shall
be made public after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete,
or over." The quoted section of the Act applies to Cabinet papers and not
the decision which is taken by a committee headed by Prime Minister and
approved by the President. The section says "Notwithstanding anything contained
in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen Cabinet papers
including records of deliberations of Council of Ministers, secretaries and
other officers."
Speaking to
ET, Bhardwaj said, "It is not clear why the decision is not complete. The
reply was sent 9 days after the actual decision was announced. It is complete.
DoPT has cited a section that exempts Cabinet papers and not these decisions.
In any case the decision is complete as it is announced." Mathur was administered
oath of office on Monday by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The reply
comes after Supreme Court had given strict directives to the government to
maintain transparency in the appointment process.
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