Delhi HC seeks Centre's response on plea seeking details of Lokpal Selection Committee meeting

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought Central Government's response on a plea seeking details of the Lokpal Selection Committee meeting for selecting the Chairperson and members of the Lokpal.

A petition has been moved in the High Court challenging the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) order denying the information sought by the petitioner.

Justice Yashwant Varma granted time to Amit Mahajan, Standing Counsel for the Central Government, to take instructions on the matter.

The petition has been moved by RTI Activist Anjali Bhardwaj through Advocate Prashant Bhushan. The petition has been listed for May 23 for further hearing.

The petitioner has challenged the order passed by CIC on January 28, 2021, upholding the decision of the First Appellate Authority denying a copy of the minutes of the meeting of the Selection Committee.

The petition stated 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 decisions 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 petition stated.

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

The Court said that the only question that it will be considering is whether the same falls within the meaning of information or whether there are any instructions that restrict the centre from making the disclosure.

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

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

( With inputs from ANI )