K.S. Sripathi, former Chief Secretary, was sworn in State Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) at a brief function at Raj Bhavan here on Wednesday.
Governor Surjit Singh Barnala administered the oath of office. Mr. Sripathi succeeded S. Ramakrishnan, who demitted office on Monday.
A gazette notification regarding Mr. Sripathi's appointment was issued on Wednesday.
In a brief interaction with reporters, the new State CIC said: “I will do what is just and what is justice. It is my objective.”
Asked whether he would like to be a pro-active CIC, he replied that “There is nothing called [being] pro-active. I would be an active CIC.”
To a question whether he applied for the post or if he was nominated, Mr. Sripathi replied: “You can ask for information.” As for the contention of information activists that the post had always gone to bureaucrats, the CIC responded that this was the second time that the CIC had been appointed. “The second need not be always.”
To another query on the activists' criticism about lack of transparency in the selection of State CIC, Mr. Sripathi said it was their opinion.
Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan, Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Law Minister Durai Murugan and Chief Secretary S. Malathi, among others, were present on the occasion.
3 arrested
Three RTI activists who allegedly protested the appointment of Mr. Sripathi in front of Raj Bhavan here were arrested. Police said Siva Elango, Madhav and Gopalakrishnan alleged that the appointment of the new CIC was made in a “non-transparent” manner. They were released in the evening.
In a statement, People's Union for Civil Liberties vice-president Sudha Ramalingam described the arrest of the three RTI activists as “unconstitutional” and demanded their immediate release.
