The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on Monday appointed Pooja Gupta, wife of the Vice Chairman of the Punjab Economic Policy and Planning Board, and Harpreet Singh Sandhu, an advocate associated with previous governments, as State Information Commissioners (SIC).
Pooja Gupta, a Chandigarh resident, is a social worker, philanthropist, and educationist. She holds a commerce degree and a postgraduate degree from Panjab University. Her husband, Sunil Gupta, a leading chartered accountant, currently holds a cabinet rank in the Punjab government and serves as the Vice Chairman of the Punjab Economic Policy and Planning Board. He was appointed to this position after the AAP government assumed office.
Harpreet Singh Sandhu, an advocate, served as Chairman of Punjab Information Technology and Communication Technology Corporation Limited (INFOTECH) under former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in November 2021. In January 2023, Sandhu was honoured at the state-level Republic Day function in Jalandhar by the then Governor Banwari Lal Purohit for his contributions to Punjab’s tourism sector.
A practicing attorney specialising in International Law and Relations, Sandhu has authored four books focusing on comparative legal studies. He was also the Additional Advocate General during former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s first tenure from 2002 to 2007. However, Sandhu was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in connection with the alleged multi-crore City Centre scam, in which Amarinder Singh was also named as an accused. Both were later acquitted. The scam, uncovered during the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Bharatiya Janata Party’s tenure from 2007 to 2014, was eventually dismissed after the SAD-BJP government gave Sandhu and other accused a clean chit.
The SIC posts were filled following a Punjab and Haryana High Court directive in November, instructing the state government to fill the vacancies by December 15. Recently, the Punjab government informed the High Court that it had finalised two candidates, and the file was awaiting clearance.
The screening process was overseen by a committee chaired by the Chief Minister, with the Health Minister and the Leader of the Opposition as members. The committee made its final decision based on recommendations from a search and screening committee led by the Chief Secretary.
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