Haryana Information Commissioners’ appointments under scanner over transparency questions
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, May 20, 2026 — Questions have been raised over the appointment process of the State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC) and State Information Commissioners (SICs) in Haryana after Advocate and Legal Consultant Hemant Kumar sought public disclosure of the selection process records.
In a legal representation sent to Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other senior officials, Punjab and Haryana High Court Advocate Hemant Kumar alleged that the appointment process lacked transparency despite a Supreme Court ruling mandating openness in such selections.
The controversy centres around the appointment of one State Information Commissioner nearly 11 months after the first batch of commissioners was appointed in May 2025.
According to the representation, the Haryana Government had invited applications in March 2025 for one post of State Chief Information Commissioner and seven posts of State Information Commissioners. A Search Committee headed by the Haryana Chief Secretary was tasked with shortlisting candidates, after which a statutory committee led by the Chief Minister was to make the final recommendations.
On May 23, 2025, retired IAS officer T. V. S. N. Prasad was appointed as the State Chief Information Commissioner along with several State Information Commissioners.
However, controversy emerged after one selected candidate, Priyanka Dhopra, was reportedly not administered the oath during the official swearing-in ceremony, with no official explanation issued publicly.
The issue intensified further when another candidate, Ajay Kumar Sura, was appointed as State Information Commissioner only in April 2026 — almost a year after the original appointments.
Hemant Kumar has questioned whether Ajay Kumar Sura’s name had already been approved during the 2025 selection process and, if so, why his appointment was delayed for nearly 11 months.
Although the Haryana Government recently uploaded the names of more than 350 applicants who had applied for the posts, the detailed proceedings and recommendations of the Search Committee and Selection Committee have still not been placed in the public domain.
The representation cites a 2019 Supreme Court judgment directing governments to ensure complete transparency in the appointment process of Information Commissioners across the country.
Hemant Kumar has demanded immediate disclosure of all meeting records, minutes and recommendations connected with the appointments, arguing that transparency in Information Commissions is directly linked to citizens’ Right to Information and institutional accountability.