Appointment at CIC and CVC deferred for the want of inputs about candidates
24 May, 2015The three member committee comprising of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge met at the PM residence yesterday regarding the appointment of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner at the Central Information Commission (CIC). However, no decision could be arrived at and the decision was deferred for the want of more inputs on the probable candidates. While the names of the candidates were discussed, it was agreed by the Committee that more clarity was needed to reach a consensus. The additional information is likely to be compiled in the next few days and then a meeting of the Committee would be fixed depending upon the convenience of members.
203 applications were received for the post of the Chief Information Commissioner including all the existing seven information commissioners while 553 applications were received for the post of information commissioners. The vacancy in the CIC is one of the important reasons for the backlog of 39,000 second appeals and complaints pending before the Commission.
The selection panel for the CVC comprising of the Prime Minister, home minister and leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha also had a meeting yesterday and the final selection amongst the 130 applicants was deferred. Currently, the three-member CVC is operating with a sole member, vigilance commissioner Rajiv and the absence of the other two members is affecting the working of the CVC.
The delay in the appointment at CIC and CVC has received criticism from many quarters. The Delhi High Court is monitoring the appointment process.