RAS question
The Central Information Commission was established under:
Correct answer: (C) Right to Information Act, 2005.
The Central Information Commission was established under Section 12 of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Explanation
The Central Information Commission is a statutory body created by the Right to Information Act, 2005, not by a general constitutional provision or a secrecy law. Section 12 of the Act says the Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a body called the Central Information Commission to exercise the powers and perform the functions assigned to it under the Act. The same section explains its composition: the Chief Information Commissioner and up to ten Central Information Commissioners. It also states that these commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the prescribed committee. That is why the precise answer is the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Official Secrets Act is associated with restricting access to official information, whereas the Commission in question is constituted under the RTI Act's transparency framework.
- (B) The Freedom of Information Act, 2002 is not the operative basis here; it was repealed and replaced by the Right to Information Act, 2005.
- (D) The CIC is not created directly by a constitutional provision; it is a statutory body constituted under Section 12 of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Concept
This tests the governance distinction between constitutional bodies and statutory bodies. RAS repeatedly asks such questions because commissions, their parent Acts, and appointment provisions are core to Indian polity.