Delhi HC issues notice to Centre on plea seeking details of Lokpal selection Committee meeting

New Delhi [India], March 16 : The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the Central government on a plea seeking details of the Lokpal Selection Committee meeting.

The plea was filed by the RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj in 2021 challenging the order of the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) denying the information.

Justice Prathiba M Singh on Thursday issued notice to the respondents, the Central government, and directed them to file a reply in four weeks on the petition. The matter has been listed on September 16.

The petitioner has challenged the order passed by the CIC in January 2021, upholding the decision of the First Appellate Authority denying a copy of the minutes of the meeting of the Selection Committee.

It has been stated in the petition that the CPIO of the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) had refused to provide a copy of the minutes of the meetings saying that the authorship of such documents by high-level dignitaries did not vest in the DOPT and that the same had been shared as secret documents.

"The disclosure of information that forms the basis of the decision of the selection committee is in the interest of the public at large since the public has a right to know the basis on which the chairperson and members of the Lokpal are selected," the plea stated.

It is also stated that under the RTI Act, access to information can be rejected only on the grounds mentioned in Section 8 or 9 and that there is no provision for denying information merely because the authorship vests in high-level dignitaries and not in public authority or because some documents are shared as secret.

During the earlier hearing, the previous bench had said that the only question that it will be considering is whether the same falls within the meng of information or whether there are any instructions that restrict the centre from making the disclosure.

The petitioner has also stated that transparency in appointments to oversight bodies is a crucial safeguard against arbitrariness in appointments and also ensures their independent functioning.

The petition has claimed that though the Act was passed in 2013, the government failed to make appointments for over 5 years and that the Selection Committee headed by the Prime Minister met in March 2018, after a contempt petition was filed in the Supreme Court. The Centre's Standing Counsel had objected to this submission.