THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There is just two months for the last remaining information commissioner to retire but the State Government has sought a second extension from the High Court to fill the vacancies in the State Information Commission.
The High Court had asked the state to complete the appointment process by February 7. Now, the state wants the deadline moved to March 7. Fear is, this is a ploy to dismantle the SIC. “We have objected to the extension as the as election process will probably be announced on March 1.Last time (in 2011) it was announced on that date,” said M T Thomas, member of National Commission for the Protection of Right to Information (NCPRI).
“Once the election process is announced, the filling of vacancies will require the approval of the Chief Election Commissioner, and procedures could turn out to be cumbersome. Further, there is also the likelihood that the opposition leader will not cooperate with the process,” Mr Thomas said.
At the moment, the SIC is a one-member body, and this lone member, chief information commissioner Siby Mathews, will retire on April 22. (So will K Natarajan, who has been in suspension since November 9, 2012.)
In the case of four earlier retirements, the state had failed to adhere to the Supreme Court guideline that applications have to be called for three months before the retirement of an incumbent.
Two information commissioners Dr Kurias Kumbalakuzhy and M N Gunavardhanan had retired in March and April of 2015. Another IC, Soni B Thengamam, demitted office on August 10 this year. Yet another, C S Sasikumar, left office on October 24, 2015.
However, the High Court had in November 2015 asked the state to expedite the appointments after the NCPRI had filed a petition charging that the government was attempting to sneak in political candidates as commissioners.
