Chief Information Commissioner A N Tiwari takes oath of office

Tiwari, one of the senior-most Information Commissioners was elevated to the position of Chief of Central Information Commissioner on Wednesday thus ending days of speculation about the new head of the transparency panel.

President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday had given assent to the name of Tiwari, a 1969-batch IAS officer who was also a former Secretary of Department of Personnel and Training.64-year old Tiwari, who joined the Central Information Commission on December 26, 2005 will have a tenure of three months as his five-year term will end in December this year.

According to the RTI Act, "Where the Information Commissioner is appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner, his term of office shall not be more than five years in aggregate as the Information Commissioner and the Chief Information Commissioner".
In one of the path-breaking decisions, Tiwari as the Information Commissioner brought Income Tax returns of political parties under public scrutiny.

The Chief Information Commissioner is chosen by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and a minister of the Union Cabinet.