Central and State Information Commission

The Central Government shall by notification in the official Gazette constitute a body, which shall be known as Central Information Commission and it shall exercise the powers conferred upon it as prescribed under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

Apart from this Commission, the State Government, by notification in the official gazette may constitute a body to be known as the State Information Commission that is vested to exercise prescribed rights under the Right to Information Act, 2005. Let us discuss these two Commissions in detail in the following sections.

Central Information Commission

The Central Information Commission (CIC) shall consist of the following members:

• Chief Information Commissioner
  
• Such number of Central Information Commissioners, not exceeding ten, as may be deemed necessary
  
• The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the following:
  
  
  • The Prime Minister, who shall be the Chairperson of the committee
    
  • The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha
    
  • Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister

The Chief Information Commissioner and other commissioners appointed are required to be persons having varied experience in areas of law, science, technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media, or administration or governance. The Chief Information Commissioner or other commissioners appointed cannot be members of Parliament or Legislature. They cannot hold any office for profit or be members of any political party.

The headquarters of the Central Information Commission shall be based in Delhi. The Central Information Commission may, with the prior approval of the Central Government, establish its office at any other place. The Chief Information Officer shall hold the office for a term of 5 years from resuming the office or till attaining the age of 65, whichever is earlier, and shall not be eligible for the re-appointment.

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State Information Commission

The composition of the State Information Commission is as follows:

• The State Chief Information Commissioner
  
• Such numbers of State Information Commissioners shall not exceed 10

The State Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioners are appointed by the Governor of the State on the recommendation for their appointment by the Committee, which consists of the following:

• The Chief Minister, who shall be Chairperson of the Committee
• The leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly
• The cabinet minister who shall be nominated by the Chief Minister

The State Information Commissioner and other Commissioners appointed are required to be persons having a varied experience in areas of law, science, technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media, or administration or governance.

The State Information Commissioner or other commissioners appointed cannot be members of Parliament or Legislature. They cannot hold any office or profit from any political party.

The headquarters of the State Information Commission shall be based on the notification in the official Gazette and the State Information Commission may, with the prior approval of the State government, establish the office at any other place.

The State Information Officer shall hold the office for a term of 5 years from when he has entered his office and shall not be eligible for re-appointment.

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Power of Information Commission

The powers of the Information Commission (i.e. both the Central Information Commission and the State Information Commission) are contained in Section 18 of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

The powers of the Information Commission are as follows:

• To receive complaints
• To take disciplinary action against the information officer
• To impose a monetary penalty
• To conduct inquiry

The Central and State Information Commission is empowered to inquire into the complaint of any person:

• Who has not been able to submit a request to the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer for either of the reason that no such officer has been appointed under the provisions of this Act or his application under this Act has been rejected for further forwarding.
  
  
• Who has been denied access to the information requested under this Act.
  
  
• Who has been required to pay any fee which he or she feels is unreasonable.
  
  
• Who believes that he or she has been given information which is completely misleading.
  
  
• Who has not been given a response for the information enquired for.

The Central or the State Information Commissioner while enquiring into the matter shall have the same right as in the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 in respect of the following matters:

• Summoning or enforcing the attendance of persons and compelling them to give oral or written representation
  
  
• Receiving evidence on affidavits
  
  
• Issuing summons for the examination of witnesses
  
  
• Any other matter which may be prescribed