1. |
How is Central Information
Commission constituted? |
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- Central Information
Commission to be constituted by the Central Government through a Gazette
Notification.
- Commission includes 1 Chief
Information Commissioner (CIC) and not more than 10 Information Commissioners
(IC) who will be appointed by the President of India.
- Oath of Office will be
administered by the President of India according to the form set out in the
First Schedule.
- Commission shall have its
Headquarters in Delhi. Other offices may be established in other parts of the
country with the approval of the Central Government.
- Commission will exercise its
powers without being subjected to directions by any other authority. (S.12)
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2. |
What is the eligibility
criteria and what is the process of appointment of CIC/IC? |
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- Candidates for CIC/IC 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.
- CIC/IC shall not be a Member
of Parliament or Member of the Legislature of any State or Union Territory. He
shall not hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party
or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession. (S.12)
- Appointment Committee
includes Prime Minister (Chair), Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and
one Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister.
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3. |
What is the term of office
and other service conditions of CIC? |
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- CIC shall be appointed for a
term of 5 years from date on which he enters upon his office or till he attains
the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
- CIC is not eligible for
reappointment.
- Salary will be the same as
that of the Chief Election Commissioner. This will not be varied to the
disadvantage of the CIC during service. (S.13)
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4. |
What is the term of office
and other service conditions of IC? |
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- IC shall hold office for a
term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office or till he
attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier and shall not be
eligible for reappointment as IC.
- Salary will be the same as
that of the Election Commissioner. This will not be varied to the disadvantage
of the IC during service.
- IC is eligible for
appointment as CIC but will not hold office for more than a total of five years
including his/her term as IC. (S.13)
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5. |
How is the State
Information Commission constituted? |
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- The State Information
Commission will be constituted by the State Government through a Gazette
notification. It will have one State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC) and
not more than 10 State Information Commissioners (SIC) to be appointed by the
Governor.
- Oath of office will be
administered by the Governor according to the form set out in the First
Schedule.
- The headquarters of the State
Information Commission shall be at such place as the State Government may
specify. Other offices may be established in other parts of the State with the
approval of the State Government.
- The Commission will exercise
its powers without being subjected to any other authority.
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6. |
What is the eligibility
criterion and what is the process of appointment of State Chief Information
Commissioner/State Information Commissioners? |
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The Appointments Committee
will be headed by the Chief Minister. Other members include the Leader of the
Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and one Cabinet Minister nominated by the
Chief Minister.
The qualifications for
appointment as SCIC/SIC shall be the same as that for Central Commissioners.
The salary of the State Chief
Information Commissioner will be the same as that of an Election Commissioner.
The salary of the State Information Commissioner will be the same as that of the
Chief Secretary of the State Government. (S.15)
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7. |
What are the powers and
functions of Information Commissions? |
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- The Central Information
Commission/State Information Commission has a duty to receive complaints from
any person -
a) |
who has not been able to
submit an information request because a PIO has not been appointed ; |
b) |
who has been refused
information that was requested; |
c) |
who has received no response
to his/her information request within the specified time limits ; |
d) |
who thinks the fees charged
are unreasonable ; |
e) |
who thinks information given
is incomplete or false or misleading ;and |
f) |
any other matter relating to
obtaining information under this law. |
- Power to order inquiry if
there are reasonable grounds.
- CIC/SCIC will have powers of
Civil Court such as -
a) |
summoning and enforcing
attendance of persons, compelling them to give oral or written evidence on oath
and to produce documents or things; |
b) |
requiring the discovery and
inspection of documents; |
c) |
receiving evidence on
affidavit ; |
d) |
requisitioning public
records or copies from any court or office |
e) |
issuing summons for
examination of witnesses or documents |
f) |
any other matter which may
be prescribed. |
- All records covered by this
law (including those covered by exemptions) must be given to CIC/SCIC during
inquiry for examination.
- Power to secure compliance of
its decisions from the Public Authority includes-
a) |
providing access to
information in a particular form; |
b) |
directing the public
authority to appoint a PIO/APIO where none exists; |
c) |
publishing information or
categories of information; |
d) |
making necessary changes to
the practices relating to management, maintenance and destruction of records ; |
e) |
enhancing training provision
for officials on RTI; |
f) |
seeking an annual report from
the public authority on compliance with this law; |
g) |
require it to compensate for
any loss or other detriment suffered by the applicant ; |
h) |
impose penalties under this
law; or |
i) |
reject the application. (S.18
and S.19) |
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8. |
What is the reporting
procedure? |
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- Central Information
Commission will send an annual report to the Central Government on the
implementation of the provisions of this law at the end of the year. The State
Information Commission will send a report to the State Government .
- Each Ministry has a duty to
compile reports from its Public Authorities and send them to the Central
Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be.
- Each report will contain
details of number of requests received by each Public Authority, number of
rejections and appeals, particulars of any disciplinary action taken, amount of
fees and charges collected etc.
- Central Government will table
the Central Information Commission report before Parliament after the end of
each year. The concerned State Government will table the report of the State
Information Commission before the Vidhan Sabha (and the Vidhan Parishad wherever
applicable). (S.25)
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