3 min readNew DelhiApr 25, 2026 06:08 AM IST
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi dissented over the selection of Raj Kumar Goel as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and proposed three alternative candidates. However, the selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi proceeded with Goel’s recommendation during its meeting on December 10 last year.
The selection committee comprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of Opposition (LS) Rahul Gandhi.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has made public the files related to the appointment of the CIC and eight Information Commissioners, following a Supreme Court directive on a petition filed by RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj.
The documents, now available on the DoPT website, include Rahul Gandhi’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi dated December 10, the day the selection committee met, in which he recommended Sumita Dawra, a 1991-batch IAS officer who had served as Secretary, Labour and Employment, from the shortlist prepared by the search committee.
The files reveal that the search committee, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, had shortlisted four names for the post of CIC: Sumita Dawra, Raj Kumar Goel, Umang Narula (retired IAS officer of AGMUT cadre and former Secretary (Parliamentary Affairs), and V Srinivas (IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre). All shortlisted candidates were serving or retired IAS officers. However, the list of 85 applicants includes names from diverse backgrounds, though their details are not given. Notes say: “The Search Committee, in its meeting held on September 29, 2025, considered all applications received for the post (of CIC) as well as names of eminent persons from fields suggested by the Members of the Search Committee” and shortlisted four names.
In his letter to the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi stated that if the committee was inclined to consider candidates outside the shortlist, he would recommend Justice S Murlidhar, former Chief Justice of the Odisha High Court, and Prof Faizan Mustafa, former Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law.
The minutes of the selection committee meeting record Gandhi’s disagreement and his suggestions. Notes say that Rahul Gandhi disagreed with the appointment of one of the eight Information Commissioners, but the name of the person is not disclosed in the documents.
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The search committee had met on September 29, 2025, to consider applications received following advertisements issued by the DoPT.
