The newly appointed chief information commissioner (CIC) of India Heeralal Samariya has his roots in Rajasthan.
The 1985 batch retired IAS officer of Andhra cadre and later Telangana cadre, has his native place in Pahadi village in Deeg district. He has the distinction of becoming the first dalit CIC of India.
Earlier he was appointed as information commissioner (IC) in November 2020 – two months after retirement from the post of union secretary of labour and employment.
Serving for a little less than three years as information commissioner, Samariya replaced Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha, a former diplomat, who retired on October 3, this year as CIC.
President Murmu administered the oath of office to Samairya at a function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Samariya is likely to hold the post till 13, September 2025.
Early education
Samariya, who did Bachelor's in Engineering (Civil) from MREC (now MNIT), Jaipur in 1982, was an alumnus of Sainik School Chittorgarh. He studied there from 1970-77 and was considered to be a bright student. He was pupil of Jaimal Sadan in Sainik School.
Son of police officer and father of IAS
Heeralal Samariya is son of a police officer and father of an IAS officer – Peeyush Samariya who is serving in Rajasthan. According to sources, his father had served as deputy superintendent of police with Rajasthan Police.
Peeyush Samariya
Heeralal Samariya's son Peeyush Samariya, a 2014 batch IAS, is currently serving as Inspector General, Registration and Stamps, Ajmer.
He is also an engineering graduate with specialisation in mechanical engineering. He had held post of collector in several districts including Dausa, Nagaur and Chittorgarh.
What is the scenario at Central Information Commission
After Samariya's appointment as the CIC, there exists a vacancy of eight Information Commissioners. At present, there are two Information Commissioners in the Commission. The Commission is headed by the Chief Information Commissioner and can have a maximum of 10 Information Commissioners.
The appointment of Samariya happened soon after the Supreme Court had on October 30 asked the Centre and the state governments to take steps to fill the post, saying otherwise the 2005 law on Right to Information will become a “dead letter”.
Vivek Shukla is a management graduate who has worked in corporate worked for 20 years and is now pursuing his passion — news.
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