MUMBAI: Former diplomat and central information commissioner Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha has reportedly been appointed as the country’s next chief information commissioner (CIC), two months after the position fell vacant.

Media reported that 155 applications were received for the post of CIC.

The decision to appoint Sinha was taken after a meeting of the selection panel headed by prime minister Narendra Modi on 24 October. However, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is also a member of the panel, has submitted a dissent note.

The Opposition leader was against the shortlisting process, alleging a failure to follow the Supreme Court’s transparency guidelines, issued in a February 2019 case brought by RTI (Right to Information) activist Anjali Bhardwaj. Chowdhury also objected to the fact that journalist Uday Mahurkar had been shortlisted for a commissioner position although he was not on the list of applicants.

Sinha was sworn in as information commissioner on 1 January 2019. He is a former diplomat who was appointed as high commissioner of India to the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka.

The commission is the highest appellate authority under the right to information act, and consists of a panel including chief and up to ten commissioners. The commission has been headless twice this year, due to a two month delay in appointing the last chief Bimal Julka, and another two month period since he retired at the end of August. The commission has not functioned at full strength for almost four years, and currently has only five commissioners.