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HC disqualifies 4 ICs
The PIL bench of the AP High Court comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice KC Bhanu on Thursday set aside the appointment of four persons as Information Commissioners in the state. The setback to the state comes in a batch of writ pleas filed questioning the appointments of Imitiaz Ahmed, V Venkateshwarlu, Thanthiya Kumari and Vijaya Nirmala.
Court rebuff to CM Kiran
- The 4 ICs are Imitiaz Ahmed, V Venkateswarlu, Thanthiya Kumari and Vijaya Nirmala
- Court asks Govt to fill vacant posts in six weeks as per the provisions of the RTI Act
- These names have been in controversy with the Governor returning the file
- The petitioners contended that these were political appointments
- The disqualified meet the CM in the evening
Hyderabad: The PIL bench of the AP High Court comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice KC Bhanu on Thursday set aside the appointment of four persons as Information Commissioners in the state. The setback to the state comes in a batch of writ pleas filed questioning the appointments of Imitiaz Ahmed, V Venkateshwarlu, Thanthiya Kumari and Vijaya Nirmala.
The bench directed the government to complete the process of appointments to vacant posts in six weeks in accordance with the provisions of the Right to Information Act as interpreted by the apex court. The names have been in controversy even earlier with the Governor not earlier accepting their names for the said posts. The file on return found the formal approval of the Governor. K Padmanabhaiah, former Union Home Secretary, M Padmanabha Reddy, Forum for Good Governance, and Rao Chelikani, social activist, in two separate writ petitions, contend that the appointees were political beneficiaries and therefore the appointments be set aside.
It was contended that Imitiaz Ahmed had contested the Assembly elections from the Chief Minister’s constituency and was of the TDP. Each of the other appointed Information Commissioners, it was alleged, had their political roots. It was contended that V Venkateshwarlu was recommended by three Congress party functionaries as being an active party worker. Yet another allegation against him was that he was an enrolled member of the Bar and had not resigned on the relevant date. Of the two women, it was alleged that one of them had even contested an election on the PRP ticket.
The petitioners pointed out that after the list was sent back earlier by the Governor, it was cleared without the mandatory consultative process with the leader of the Opposition and, therefore, the decision- making process was contrary to law. Meanwhile, the four information commissioners met chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy at his camp office late in the night in the backdrop of the High Court Judgement.
