Central Information Commission

Also called: CIC · Topic: Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"

Meaning

The Central Information Commission (CIC) is a statutory body set up under the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005. It is also quasi-judicial: it is not a court, but it hears both sides, decides cases and passes binding orders. It hears second appeals and complaints from citizens whom central public authorities have refused information. It matters because it is the last stop for a citizen inside the RTI system. Without a working CIC, the "right" to information cannot be enforced against the Union government.

Explanation

How a citizen reaches the CIC

• Step 1: RTI request. A citizen asks the Public Information Officer (PIO) for information. The PIO is the officer in each office who handles RTI requests and must reply within 30 days.
• Step 2: First appeal. If the PIO refuses, gives a wrong reply or does not reply, the citizen appeals to a senior officer in the same office.
• Step 3: Second appeal to the CIC (s. 19). If the first appeal fails, the citizen goes to the CIC. The CIC is outside the department. This is the final appeal under the Act.
• Direct complaint (s. 18). A citizen can also complain straight to the CIC, without going through the steps above, if:
• no PIO has been appointed;
• the office refused to accept the request;
• no reply came within the time limit;
• the fee was unreasonable;

• the information given was false or incomplete.

• The CIC covers central public authorities, such as Union ministries, central PSUs and central offices. Each state has its own State Information Commission (SIC) under s. 15 for state offices.

Composition, appointment and removal

• Members (s. 12): 1 Chief Information Commissioner + up to 10 Information Commissioners (ICs).
• Appointed by: the President, on the advice of a selection committee:
• the Prime Minister (chair);
• the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, or the leader of the largest opposition group if there is no recognised LoP;

• a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the PM.

• Who can be appointed (s. 12(5)): "persons of eminence in public life" with wide knowledge of law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media, or administration and governance [4].

• Removal (s. 14): for misbehaviour or incapacity:
• the President refers the case to the Supreme Court;
• the Supreme Court holds an inquiry;
• if the Court finds the charge proved, the President removes the member.
• A court checks the charge first, so the government cannot simply dismiss a member. This protects independence.

Powers

• Civil-court powers: while hearing a case, the CIC can:
• summon people and make them appear;
• examine them on oath;
• order documents to be produced;
• receive evidence on affidavit;

• call for any public record.

• Penalty (s. 20): if a PIO refuses or delays information without a good reason, the CIC can fine the PIO ₹250 a day, up to ₹25,000.

• The PIO pays this from their own pocket, not the department's.

• The CIC can also recommend disciplinary action against a PIO who keeps breaking the law.

• Binding orders: CIC decisions must be obeyed. They can be challenged only through a writ petition in a High Court or the Supreme Court (Articles 226/32). A writ is a court order that tells an authority to do something or to stop doing something.

Term and salary: the 2019 change

Item	RTI Act 2005 (original)	After the RTI (Amendment) Act 2019 + Rules
Term	5 years or age 65, whichever came first [2]	Set by the Central Government through rules [2]. Rules of 24 October 2019 fixed 3 years [3]
Chief's salary	Same as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) [2]	₹2,50,000 a month [3]
ICs' salary	Same as Election Commissioners (ECs) [2]	₹2,25,000 a month [3]
Who decides	Parliament, through the Act	The Central Government, for both the CIC and the SICs [2]

• Before 2019: only Parliament could change term and pay, because they were written into the Act.
• After 2019: the government can change them through rules, which it makes without a full debate in Parliament.

In the Constitution and practice

• Legal basis: the CIC is not in the Constitution. It was created by the RTI Act 2005 and set up in October 2005. Because it is statutory, Parliament can change its powers by an ordinary law, as it did in 2019.
• Constitutional link: its orders can be challenged only by writ under Articles 226 and 32. The government argued that the Election Commission is a constitutional body (Article 324) and the CIC is only statutory, so the two should not have equal status.
• NCERT view (Class 9, "Democracy"): RTI stands for:
• accountability: rulers must answer to the people;
• transparency: people can see how decisions are made.

• RTI was shaped by civil-society movements working with legislators. The government did not simply hand it down.

• Citizen use: in the Bagepalli case (NCERT, Class 7), a citizen used RTI to ask how much was spent on a road. Officials had to show the records, and the dangerous road was repaired. RTI makes citizens watchdogs, and the commission can force an answer.

• Union of India v. Namit Sharma (2013):
• only persons of eminence from the listed fields should be appointed;
• the selection committee must record each candidate's eminence, knowledge and experience;

• these records must be open to citizens under RTI after the appointment [4].

• Political parties (June 2013): the CIC declared six national political parties to be "public authorities" under RTI. The parties ignored the order, and the CIC had no strong power to enforce it.

• Anjali Bhardwaj v. Union of India (15 February 2019):
• Bench: Justices A.K. Sikri and S. Abdul Nazeer [4].
• The case: RTI activists asked for a writ of mandamus, a court order telling the government to do its legal duty. They wanted vacancies filled in a transparent, time-bound way [4].
• Directions [4]:
  • publish the advertisement, the list of applicants and the selection committee members on the website;
  • state the terms of the post in the advertisement;
  • the search committee must make its shortlisting criteria public;
  • pick commissioners from all the fields in s. 12(5), not only serving or retired officials;
  • start filling a post 1-2 months before it falls vacant.

• The Court kept the case open and later passed compliance orders, because appointments were still delayed.

• Pendency at the CIC (cases waiting to be decided):

• pending appeals fell from 35,718 (2019-20) to 23,087 (2023-24) [6];
• 22,596 second appeals and complaints were pending on 29 November 2024 [5];

• 59,069 were filed between 2021-22 and 2023-24 [5].

• Weak points in practice:

• most commissioners are retired civil servants, so critics say they find it harder to question former colleagues;
• commissioners rarely use their s. 20 fines, so PIOs have little to fear.

Don't confuse with

• State Information Commission (SIC): set up under s. 15, appointed by the Governor on a committee of CM + LoP in the Assembly + a minister nominated by the CM. It covers state offices. Even so, an SIC member is removed only after a Supreme Court inquiry (s. 17), not a High Court inquiry.
• Election Commission of India: a constitutional body (Article 324). The CIC is only statutory. Before 2019, the CIC's pay was linked to the CEC and ECs [2]. After 2019 it is a fixed amount [3].
• Central Vigilance Commission / Lokpal: these look into corruption by public servants. The CIC deals only with denial of information under RTI and cannot punish officials for corruption.
• First appellate authority: a senior officer inside the same office. The CIC is the second and final appeal, outside the department.

Prelims Hooks

• The CIC is a statutory body under the RTI Act 2005 (set up October 2005). It is not a constitutional body.
• Selection committee (s. 12): PM + LoP in the Lok Sabha + a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the PM. The Chief Justice of India is NOT a member. This is a common trap.
• Removal (s. 14): by the President after a Supreme Court inquiry.
• RTI (Amendment) Act 2019: the Centre now fixes term and pay for both the CIC and SICs. The RTI Rules (24 October 2019) set a 3-year term, down from 5 years or age 65 [2][3].
• s. 18 = complaints; s. 19 = second appeals; s. 20 = penalty of ₹250 a day, up to ₹25,000, paid by the PIO.
• Anjali Bhardwaj (2019) required transparent, time-bound appointments and public shortlisting criteria. Namit Sharma (2013) required "persons of eminence" from all the listed fields [4].

Mains Points

• Independence versus executive control:
• the 2019 amendment moved term and pay out of the Act and into executive rules [2][3];
• the government whose officers the CIC questions now controls the CIC's tenure and pay;
• the selection committee has two government members and one opposition member, so the government can always outvote the opposition;

• reform: write a fixed term and status back into the Act, and make the committee more balanced.

• Federalism: the Centre now also fixes the term and pay of state commissioners [2]. Critics say this weakens state control over state bodies, which is useful for answers on cooperative federalism.

• The gap between law and practice:
• vacancies, long pendency [5][6], rare penalties and ignored orders weaken the right to information;
• remedies: follow the Anjali Bhardwaj directions on time-bound appointments [4], use s. 20 penalties firmly, publish disposal data, and appoint journalists, lawyers and social workers, not just ex-bureaucrats.

Related concepts

• State Information Commission

Read more

• Information commissions: the CIC and State Information Commissions