New Delhi
25 April 2007
A Bench comprising Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah
and Information Commissioner OP Kejariwal has said that the process of appointment of foreign
secretary is in the public domain and such information should be revealed if anyone asked for
it.
The observation came at a hearing on Tuesday rpt Tuesday, on an appeal filed by Ms Veena
Sikri. She is a career diplomat from the 1971 batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). She
approached the Central Information Commission after Mr Shivshankar Menon, a year junior to
her, was appointed foreign secretary superseding her and 15 other officers. Ms Sikri, who
returned in November from Dhaka where she was served as High Commissioner, filed her
appeal with the CIC on March 9. She sought information on rules followed by the government in
the selection of foreign secretary and the process which led to Mr Menon's appointment.
The Prime Minister's Office and the Cabinet Secretariat have refused to divulge the details on
the appointment of foreign secretary, claiming exemption on the ground that the Cabinet papers
were immune under the Right to Information Act.
Asked to provide access to the file notings regarding the appointment under the Right to
Information Act, the PMO told the Central Information Commission that such disclosure would
lead to "unwarranted invasion to the privacy of individual IFS officers screened for the post of
foreign secretary". The Cabinet Secretariat, in turn, also sought exemption from disclosure of
the file details on grounds that Cabinet papers were immune under the RTI Act and not to be put
in public domain.
Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah responded by observing that such
information should be revealed if anyone asked for it. "The entire issue is in public domain," he
said in the hearing. "Why only the appellant, if any one else asks for this information (on the
appointment), it should be disclosed," observed the Bench comprising Mr Habibullah and Mr
Kejariwal. The CIC has reserved its order.
Ms Sikri, who was assisted by her counsel Maninder Singh and Akshay Makhija, refuted the
Cabinet Secretariat's plea over exemption of such Cabinet papers saying that disclosure of such
details was in public interest. "There are some objective, well-established criteria for selection
of foreign secretary. I deserve to know why I don't fit the bill," she maintained.
The hearing, which lasted about 90 minutes, was attended by officials of the PMO, Cabinet
Secretariat, Ministry of External Affairs and the Department of Personnel and Training.
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