Live Law:
New Delhi: Monday, January 21, 2019.
Former
Information Commissioner Prof. M. Sridhar Acharyulu has written to President
Ram Nath Kovind, reiterating his demands for transparency in the process of
appointment of Information Commissioners under the Right to Information Act.
The
letter also advocates for selection of Information Commissioners from diverse
fields, rather than the current trend of choosing only those from
administrative fields.
Most
of the times the Commissioners are selected only from one field-
Administration, ignoring all other walks of social life mentioned in the RTI
Act, which I have advocated in my earlier letters. Kindly ensure that this
Government selects suitable persons from all those areas without confining only
to former bureaucrats. (I do not mean anything against the selected eminent
personalities)," it states.
he
letter begins with excerpts from the President's speech during the annual
convention of the Central Information Commission last year, when he said that
there was no such thing as too much information in a democracy. It then alleges
the existence of a "serious information deficit" relating to the
appointment of Information Commissioners.
This
is essence of democracy, Sir. Why not this information, i.e.,
"power", be given to people? Don't they have right to know?
Information deficit about Information Commissioners will not enable citizen to
take up the issues with CIC with confidence. People must develop trust in
Commission and Commissioners appointed so that they can take informed choices
and informed decisions to approach them in complaints and second appeals
seeking information denied by the public authorities unreasonably and against
RTI Act," it states.
he
letter points out that Section 4 of the RTI Act mandates voluntary disclosure
on all appointments. It then asserts that the "Government takes steps to
fill the vacancies only when the judiciary goads them and reviews the process
like a super boss, in the public interest litigations filed by public spirited
persons".
In
the same vein, the letter seeks disclosure of all the documents and reports
that became the basis of removal of Alok Verma as CBI Director. Highlighting
the importance of instilling transparency in all institutions including the CBI
and CIC, it states, "Let me refer to the demand of Leader of Opposition
Mr. Mallikharjun Kharge, who is a member of high level committee that met on
January 10, 2019 and decided by majority of 2:1 to remove Alok Varma from the
post of Director CBI, for complete information, CVC report or any other
document that formed basis for their decision.
ndoubtedly
the Committee has power to remove the director as confirmed by the bench of
Supreme Court, but is it not necessary to disclose all material reports
considered for removal to be made available to the public in general and
members of the committee including Mr Kharge in particular?"
.JPG)
.JPG)
