High Court directive to TS, AP yields results

Hyderabad: The intervention of the High Court at Hyderabad with regard to appointment of Information Commissioners under Right to Information Act in the two Telugu States seems to be working.

The Andhra Pradesh government has informed the court on Thursday that it would appoint four Information Commissioners within eight weeks, while the Telangana State government submitted to the Court that it had already appointed the Chief Information Commissioner and one Information Commissioner recently.

AP Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas informed the division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice M Ganga Rao that already AP State Information Commission had been formed and the ‘Selection Committee’ had been constituted for the appointment of the Commissioners. This process would be completed within eight weeks.

Telangana State Advocate General D Prakash Reddy also informed that a CIC and another Information Commissioner had already been appointed and depending on necessity further appointments would be made.

The bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation petition filed by the Forum for Good Governance on the issue. The bench had earlier directed both the governments to appoint the Commissioners within specified time frame. After recording the submissions of both the Advocate Generals on Thursday, the bench adjourned the case by eight weeks.

By Legal Correspondent