The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday has sought a reply from the state government on why the post of Chief Information Commissioner has been lying vacant. The post is critical for the implementation of the Right To Information (RTI) Act. Sources said that initially the government did not publish advertisements in local newspapers, but were trying to recruit through limited advertisements on a government website.
The notice was in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the High Court.
Advocate Chandravadan Dhruv, who had filed the petition, said that according to the RTI Act, the government has to begin the exercise of finding a new CIC three months prior to the expiry of the term of incumbant CIC. The previous CIC VS Gadhvi had retired on January 20, 2018, but the post has been lying vacant since then. Dhruv had on February 26, 2018, sought that the post be filled immediately and inspite of repeated pleas, no appointment has been made till date, which prompted him to file a Public Interest Litigation.
He has also demanded that instead of appointing officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the post should be filled by a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India or a High Court. He also sought that an appointment committee be formed as per the judgement in a review petition filed in the Supreme Court. An appointment committee should also be formed to verify if the candidates in the fray are adequately qualified to discharge the duties associated with the post.
RULE BOOK
- The post is critical for the implementation of the RTI Act.
- Advocate Chandravadan Dhruv said the government has to begin exercise of finding a new CIC three months prior to the expiry of the term of incumbent CIC.
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