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| Wajahat’s resignation opens debate on CIC appointments | | |
ET DESK
Jammu, Nov 8: While ace bureaucrat Wajahat Habibullah’s oath taking as Chief Information of Jammu and Kashmir still remains an uncertain schedule, the vacancy created by his resignation at the top of country’s transparency watchdog has opened up a debate on the whole appointment procedure.
Wajahat had resigned as Chief Information Commissioner of India last month to take up a similar assignment in Jammu and Kashmir but he is yet to be relieved from the post as the central government has not been able to appoint his successor. Even as couple of names have been doing rounds but the procedure of appointments has come up serious debate.
The Delhi High Court is likely to hear Monday a plea seeking transparency in the appointment of a new chief information commissioner of the Central Information Commission (CIC) and urging that bureaucrats should not be first choice for the post as 'an essential safeguard'.
The petition was filed by Krishna Rao and six others demanding that the government advertise the post of CIC chief widely and give equal opportunity for submitting candidatures to those who are eligible.
The petition filed last week through advocate A. Rasheed Quereshi submitted that 'the function of Information Commissioner is to act as transparency of public administration, so appointment of those who have held key positions and high offices in the public administration violates the principles of natural justice and creates a constant threat of conflict of interest.'
'It is undesirable that bureaucrats are first choice for appointment to the CIC, in fact non-bureaucrats should be the first choice for CIC commissioner. This is necessary for providing an essential safeguard,' the petition states.
Stressing that advertising for the CIC commissioner's post is necessary, the petition says: 'The process of issuing advertisements are part of international best practices. Since CIC's position is quasi judicial in nature, so it cannot be filled up through the closed process of in-house selection from within the public authorities over which it is expected to exercise jurisdiction.'
The present selection process is done by a committee comprising the prime minister, Leader of Opposition and a union minister nominated by the prime minister.
The activists have pleaded before the court that the government select such candidates for quasi-judicial posts whose occupational backgrounds make them 'predisposed to conflicts of interest'.
The petition also states that since the government does not advertise or make efforts to get independent, talented and qualified persons from other walks of life, they deprive the citizen the right to be served by well-qualified second appellate authorities in matters of Right to Information (RTI).
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