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Central Information Commission (CIC)

  • 18 Feb 2019

Why is it in news?

Recently, Supreme Court has noted that there exists an official bias in favor of government employees in the appointment of Chief Information Commissioner and other Information Commissioners (IC)

Composition of CIC:

As per the RTI Act, CIC consists of the Chief Information Commissioner and not more than 10 Information Commissioners (IC).

Appointment:

Section 12(3) of the RTI Act 2005 provides for the appointment of CIC & other ICs:

(i) The Prime Minister, who shall be the Chairperson of the committee;

(ii) The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha; and

(iii) A Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister will look into the appointment process.

Duration of the Office:

Section 13 of the RTI Act 2005 provides that the Chief Information Commissioner shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office and shall not be eligible for reappointment: MPs, MLA etc. are not eligible for the office of CIC.

Powers of CIC/ICs:

CIC has the power of a civil court (like summoning etc.) when it deals with the matters related to code of civil procedure, and its decisions are final and binding on the party.