Raj Kumar Goyal appointed as New Chief Information Commissioner

● On December 15, 2025 Raj Kumar Goyal was sworn in as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He succeeded Sh. Heeralal Samariya who previously held the post.

● Raj Kumar Goyal is a 1990 batch retired IAS officer, retired as Secretary in the Department of Justice under the Ministry of Law and Justice. He also worked as Secretary (Border Management) in the Ministry of Home Affairs building expertise in governance, legal matters and internal security.

About Central Information Commission (CIC)

Introduction

● CIC is a Statutory body under the Government of India Constituted on 12th October, 2005 and set up under the Right to Information Act in 2005.

● CIC acts upon complaints from individuals who could not get the required information under Right to Information act due to either the officer not having been appointed or because the respective Central Assistant Public Information officer refused to accept the application under the right to information.

● Sh. Wajahat Habibullah was the First Central Information Commissioner.

● RTI Act 2005 provides for the constitution of Central Information Commission and the State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Chairperson and Members of the State Information Commission are appointed by the Governor of the State.

● Two women, Ms. Deepak Sandhu & Ms. Sushma Singh have previously acted as Central Information Commissioners.

Jurisdiction of CIC

All Central Public Authorities are under the jurisdiction of the Central Information Commission.

Composition of CIC

The commission consists of a Central Information Commissioner and not more than ten Information Commissioners.

Appointments

The Chief Information Commissioner and other Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Committee consisting of:

i) The Prime Minister as the Chairperson

ii) The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha

iii) A Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

Oath

The Oath of office to CIC is affirmed by the President.

Tenure

The Chief Information Commissioner or Information Commissioners shall hold office for a period of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until reaching 65 years of age whichever is earlier. Commissioners are not eligible for the reappointment to the same post.

Qualifications

Eligibility for CIC/ICs requires eminent persons with expertise in law, science, technology, social service, management, journalism or governance. They cannot be sitting Members of Parliament or members of any State or Union Territory legislature. They must not hold any other office of profit, have any political affiliations or engage in any business or professional activities.

Removal

CIC or ICs can be removed by the President before completion of their tenure on charges of misconduct or incapacity or both after an enquiry conducted by a judge of the Supreme Court.

Exemption from Disclosure of Information

There shall be no obligation to give any citizen information which would affect sovereignty and integrity of India, security, strategic, scientific or economic interest of state, relation with foreign states, disclosure of information which may constitute contempt of court, information received in confidence from foreign governments etc.

Note

Right to Information (RTI) is a statutory right provided by our Parliament through the Right to Information Act, 2005. Now every citizen can seek information from government departments, ministries, PSUs and bodies substantially funded or controlled by the government by applying and paying a nominal fee to the concerned Information Officer. The Information Officer is supposed to provide the necessary possible information in a fixed time period. This Act has significantly enhanced transparency and accountability of the government officials. The RTI Act has significantly boosted accountability in governance by empowering citizens to access public records, exposing irregularities and pressuring officials to act responsibly. RTI queries uncovered major scams like 2G Spectrum, 4G Spectrum, Coal Scam, Fodder Scam, Commonwealth Games Scam etc.