Y K Sinha may be new CIC
New Delhi, Sep 24
For the first time since its inception, the Central Information Commission will function at less than half of its strength. Of the 11 members including the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), there are five members now with D P Sinha retiring tomorrow.
The CIC has been headless ever since Bimal Julka retired and senior-most member D P Sinha was not named as the new CIC. The country’s watchdog has lost a lot of teeth and in doldrums with mounting cases due to vacancies galore. Even the ministries and departments have been ducking giving replies to RTI applications on one ground or the other.
If reports are to be believed, Yashwardhan Kumar Sinha, a former officer of the Foreign Service, may be the new CIC. Sinha is senior-most and is the son of late Lt. Gen. S K Sinha, Governor of Jammu & Kashmir.
Interestingly, there is no rule in the CIC that the senior-most member alone is made the Chief Information Commissioner. Neeraj Gupta, an IAS officer, is also in the reckoning and also considered close to the government.
The government, however, assured the Parliament that the process of appointment of a new Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners has been set in motion. The government is contemplating issuing an advertisement to fill up the vacancy in a timely manner.
“The High level Search Committee follows a method of obtaining relevant information in respect of various candidates while scrutinization of applications and shortlists the candidates for the post of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners in the Central Information Commission,” said the Minister.
