President Droupadi Murmu on Monday (December 15, 2025) administered the oath of office to former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Raj Kumar Goyal as the Chief Information Commissioner of the Central Information Commission.
Soon after taking oath, Mr. Goyal took charge and administered the oath of office to eight new Information Commissioners in the presence of two incumbent Information Commissioners, Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Kumar Tiwari
The new appointees are Surendra Singh Meena, Ashutosh Chaturvedi, Swagat Das, Sudha Rani Relangi, P.R. Ramesh, Khushwant Singh Sethi, Jaya Varma Sinha, and Sanjeev Kumar Jindal.
The Central Information Commission was constituted under the Right to Information Act, 2005, and other than the Chief Information Commissioner, it can have upto 10 members. The jurisdiction of the Commission extends over all Central public authorities.
A full Commission is in place for the first time in nine years.
The three-member panel that recommended the names comprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. In a meeting on December 10, Mr. Gandhi had dissented against the names proposed by the government as they did not represent diversity.
Mr. Meena is a 1993 batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre and has served as Additional/Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Mr. Chaturvedi, a senior journalist, held the post of editor-in-chief of Prabhat Khabar, Ranchi, has previously worked as executive editor of Amar Ujala, and producer/correspondent with the BBC World Service, among others.
Mr. Das, a 1987 batch former Indian Police Service officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, retired from the post of Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat. He also served as Special Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and in different capacities in the Intelligence Bureau.
Ms. Relangi, an Indian Legal Service Officer, retired from the post of Joint Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice. She has served as Legislative Counsel, Ministry of Law and Justice; as Director of Prosecution in the Central Bureau of Investigation; and played a role in drafting the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Mr. Ramesh, a senior journalist, held the post of managing editor, Open magazine, Delhi. He also served as national political editor, and in various roles in the political bureau of The Economic Times.
Mr. Sethi, a 1990 batch Indian Forest Service officer of the Tripura cadre, held the posts of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests; head of Forest Force; and Principal Secretary, Forests.
Ms. Sinha, a 1988 batch Indian Railway Management Service officer held the post of Chairperson and CEO, Railway Board, Ministry of Railways.
Mr. Jindal, a 1989 batch officer of the Central Secretariat Service held the post of Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
