Government forms search panel for Information Commissioners

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has constituted a three-member search committee to recommend names for the vacant posts of State Chief Information Commissioner and four Information Commissioners under the RTI Act.

According to a government order, the panel will be headed by retired High Court Judge Justice RS Ramanathan, with Principal Secretary C Samayamoorthy and retired IAS officer R Sudalaikannan serving as members.

The committee is tasked with shortlisting names for the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission, which functions as the statutory body implementing the Right to Information Act, 2005, by addressing citizens' appeals and complaints.

The recruitment drive follows vacancies left after Chief Information Commissioner Md. Shakeel Akhter and Information Commissioners P Thamarai Kannan, R Priyakumar, and K Thirumalaimuthu retired upon superannuation. Another Information Commissioner, Abey Kumar Singh, resigned from his post.

The Commission comprises one Chief Information Commissioner and eight Information Commissioners, after the government expanded the strength from six to eight in December 2025. Currently, only VPR Elamparithi, M Natesan, Athulya Misra, and A Vijayaram remain in office.