It is understood that the NDA government is not keen to appoint Vijay Sharma.
In a clear departure from convention, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Friday sought applications for the post of Chief Information Commissioner at the Central Information Commission, which is the nodal agency for RTI queries.
Since the post was created with the enactment of the RTI Act and the appointment of Wajahat Habibullah in October 2005, this is for the first time that the senior-most Information Commissioner is not being appointed to the top job.
The post has been lying vacant since August 23 when Rajiv Mathur retired. And, according to the norm followed so far, the next occupant should have been Vijay Sharma. However, it is understood that the NDA government is not keen to appoint him.
Story continues below this ad
The DoPT circular notified Friday has sought applications till November 24. It added that according to the RTI Act, the “CIC must be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance”.
The DoPT is already processing the applications it has received for three vacancies for the post of Information Commissioner for which several serving and retired bureaucrats have also applied, as reported by The Indian Express on October 1.
Shyamlal Yadav is one of the pioneers of the effective use of RTI for investigative reporting. He is a member of the Investigative Team. His reporting on polluted rivers, foreign travel of public servants, MPs appointing relatives as assistants, fake journals, LIC’s lapsed policies, Honorary doctorates conferred to politicians and officials, Bank officials putting their own money into Jan Dhan accounts and more has made a huge impact. He is member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). He has been part of global investigations like Paradise Papers, Fincen Files, Pandora Papers, Uber Files and Hidden Treasures. After his investigation in March 2023 the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York returned 16 antiquities to India. Besides investigative work, he keeps writing on social and political issues. ... Read More