Name those making recommendations for Padma awards: CIC

NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission has asked the government to name those who make recommendations for Padma awards. Reasoning that details like nominated names, selection process and eligibility criteria are already in the public domain, the CIC said people recommending names for the national honour should be made public too.

In her order, information commissioner Sushma Singh said it was in larger public interest to disclose the information and gave the home ministry three weeks to comply. The direction was in response to activist S C Agrawal's plea.

Singh quoted former chief information commissioner Satyananda Mishra's letter to the home ministry asking for disclosure on Padma awards.

"Departments and every public authority is to take steps to provide as much information suo moto at regular intervals through various means of communication, including the internet, so that the public have minimum resort to use of the Act to obtain information... I, therefore, request you to kindly issue instructions to your ministry to post relevant details of information regarding procedure for selection of Padma awardees in your departmental website at the earliest as well as the details of the nominations received for the awards in 2012-13, minutes of the selection committee and the approval(s) of the various authorities," Singh said.