CIC for trust on selection procedures of public offices

[karira]

Observing that possibilities of nepotism and favouritism in public appointments should not be used as a reason to doubt in-house selection procedures of government offices, the Central Information Commission has turned down a request to disclose details on appointment of an official superseding another.

"Certain amount of trust will have to be reposed in the institutional mechanism that has been in place or procedures that have been laid down by a public authority to enable it to make an informed judgment about choice of personnel," Information Commissioner A N Tiwari said.

The CIC's observation came in light of an RTI plea by president of Kandla Port Karmachari Sangh Mohan K Aswani, who had sought from the Department of Shipping file notings pertaining to appointment of his colleague for the post of Labour Trustee, in preference over him.

While noting that public offices might use "cloak of confidentiality" to cover up their "injudicious decision" coupled with "favouritism and nepotism", the commission, while turning down Aswani's plea, said that such a possibility should not raise doubts on the functioning of the offices.

"I am not inclined to undo an established system on the basis of some hypothetical scenario about its possible abuse," Tiwari said in his order.

The Commission, however, said in cases of specific allegations of abuses of authority by public offices, they could be asked to disclose the details under the provisions of RTI Act.

Earlier, the information officer of Shipping Ministry had contended that selection process of officials had confidential details sourced from vigilance and intelligence agencies, which would be inappropriate to divulge.

Zee News - CIC for trust on selection procedures of public offices