Raj Kumar Goyal sworn in as new Chief Information Commissioner by Prez

Retired IAS officer Raj Kumar Goyal was sworn in as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) by President Droupadi Murmu. A 1990-batch IAS officer, Goyal succeeds Heeralal Samariya and previously served as Secretary in the Department of Justice.

Retired IAS officer Raj Kumar Goyal was sworn in as the Chief Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission on Monday. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Raj Kumar Goyal at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Vice President CP Radhakrishnan was also present at the occasion.

"President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Shri Raj Kumar Goyal, Chief Information Commissioner, at Rashtrapati Bhavan," the X handle of the President of India said.

About the New Chief Information Commissioner

Goyal is a retired IAS officer of the 1990 batch and was superannuated as Secretary in the Department of Justice under the Ministry of Law and Justice. He has also served as the Secretary (Border Management) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. He succeeded Heeralal Samariya as the CIC.

Appointment and Selection Process

The President, on the recommendations of the committee constituted under sub-section (3) of Section 12 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, appointed Raj Kumar Goyal as the Chief Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission with effect from December 15.

The President appoints the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, who is also the Chairperson of the committee; the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha; and a Union Cabinet Minister as nominated by the Prime Minister.

The Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi held a nearly two-hour closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday to finalise the key appointment to the Central Information Commission (CIC). The discussion also covered the selection of the Chief Information Commissioner, eight Information Commissioners, and the Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

Sources said during the discussion, Rahul Gandhi gave a dissent note on the selection of the officials.

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