| 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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