Overview
- A three-member statutory committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and a PM-nominated Union minister is slated to convene on December 10.
- The government informed the Supreme Court on December 1 that the panel would meet on this date to select and recommend names for appointment.
- The commission has had no chief since September 13, when Heeralal Samariya demitted office upon turning 65, marking the seventh headless stretch since 2014.
- Only Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Kumar Tiwari are serving as information commissioners, with eight posts vacant since November 2023 and 30,838 cases pending, according to the CIC.
- Per the appointment procedure, DoPT compiled applications and sent them to a search committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary; 83 applied for the chief’s post and 161 for commissioner vacancies, with the panel’s picks to be sent to the President for appointment.