Who will be new CIC? PM Narendra Modi-led panel to decide today

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has gone headless, for the second time since the BJP government came into power in 2014.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File Photo

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led selection panel will on Friday meet to decide the new chief of Central Information Commission (CIC), which is headless for over a week.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge, who are members of the three-member panel, will also attend the meet.

The transparency watchdog has gone headless, for the second time since the BJP government came into power in 2014, after Vijai Sharma completed his tenure on December 01, after attaining 65 years of age. Sharma was appointed on June 09, this year.

The CIC was without its chief for nearly 10 months after the completion of the tenure of the then Chief Information Commissioner Rajiv Mathur in August 2014.

A total of 33,619 complaints and appeals are pending in the Commission as on December 10, 2015, as per official data.

The CIC comprises of one chief and 10 Information Commissioners.

At present, there are seven Information Commissioners-- Basant Seth, Yashovardhan Azad, Sharat Sabharwal, Manjula Prasher, MA Khan Yusufi, Madabhushanam Sridhar Acharyulu and Sudhir Bhargava-- in the Commission.

As per convention, the senior most Information Commissioner is chosen as chief. Presently, Seth is the senior-most Information Commissioner.

The Committee may also discuss on the names of three new Information Commissioners today. Another meeting of the selection committee may take place soon in case the panel could not decide on their names, the sources said.