Haryana Set to Appointment Chief Information Commissioner and 7 Information Commissioners

The long-delayed appointments to Haryana's State Information Commission are finally moving forward as the Selection Committee, chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, is set to meet tomorrow to recommend names for the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and seven Information Commissioners.

After receiving a formal request from the BJP-led state government, the Congress party has nominated former Chief Minister and ex-Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda to participate in the meeting. The committee's recommendations will subsequently be forwarded to the Governor for final approval. 

A Search Committee, headed by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi and including Additional Chief Secretaries Sudhir Rajpal and Sumita Misra, has already completed the preliminary work by shortlisting three candidates each for the CIC position and the seven Information Commissioner posts. The application process had begun on March 4, 2025.

The appointments had been stalled for over seven-and-a-half months due to the Congress party's failure to finalize a new Leader of Opposition following the previous assembly elections. Faced with this continuing delay, Chief Secretary Rastogi had written to Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Udai Bhan, requesting the party to either name a new LoP or nominate a senior MLA to serve on the selection panel. Hooda's nomination is a direct response to this communication.  

The Selection Committee meeting is a right step forward to fill these critical positions that have remained vacant which affected the functioning of the Right to Information machinery in the state.