Re: [IAC#RG] GRIEVANCE: Appointment of next Chief Information Commissioner of India

JUST FOR YOUR INFORMATION, DEEPAK SANDHU WAS THE DG (MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS) IN PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU, AND HAS NEVER SERVED WITH PMO.

 

Bharat Bhushan Nagpal

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From: Sarbajit Roy <sroy.mb@gmail.com>
To: secy_mop <secy_mop@nic.in>; R.K.Girdhar <usrti-dopt@nic.in>; Cabinet Secretary to Government of India <cabinetsy@nic.in>
Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 12:22 PM
Subject: [IAC#RG] GRIEVANCE: Appointment of next Chief Information Commissioner of India

To:

1) Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training, Govt of India
2) Cabinet Secretary, Govt of India

MY GRIEVANCE
BY EMAIL:

Date: 30-July-2013

Sirs,

I am constrained to bring to your attention / notice a news story published in Indian Express (New Delhi edn) today titled as "Info commissioner wants to go 4 days early" stating that present Chief Information Commissioner Mr Satyananda Mishra retires on 4.Sept.2013 causing another Commissioner Mr. M.L.Sharma to resign as he cannot serve under his junior. The said news report further implies that a Committee consisting of Prime Minister, Law Minister and Leader of Opposition will pick the new CIC, and has the option of "elevating a serving information commissioner" and that Ms. Deepak Sandhu (formerly from the PMO) is the front runner for the post.

As your departments are the nodal ones for selection of the Information Commissioners, including the Chief Information Commissioner, I am clearly bringing it to your notice that there is no provision in the RTI Act 2005 for "elevation" of sitting Information Commissioners and I am hence aggrieved. The said practice unilaterally proposed by former CIC Shri Wajahat Habibullah is patently illegal and was struck down by the Delhi High Court in 2010 in my case along with with his illegal CIC Management Regulations 2007.

As per RTI Act read with the Supreme Court judgment in Namit Sharma matter, applications shall also have to be publicly invited for the post of Chief Information Commissioner also. The advice on this is already duly noted in the concerned files of your Dept/Secretariat. The appointment of Information Commissioners must be a transparent and honest one to preclude any arbitrary and high handed appointments. I also specifically assail the tendency to appoint retired bureaucrats to such plum positions, evidently as gratification for favors rendered by them while in service.

Kindly take notice that I have already applied for post of Central Information Commissioner in response to various notices issued by the DoPT and there is no reason why I am not also eligible to be considered for the post of Chief Information Commissioner. I am therefore specifically calling upon you to ensure that my bio-data is properly considered for the position of Chief Information Commissioner also and a record of its proper consideration with all notings is maintained on file.

yours sincerely

Er. Sarbajit Roy
National Convenor
India Against Corruption, jan andolan

Address: B-59 Defence Colony
New Delhi 110024

Tel : 09311448069

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