New Delhi: March 2011 – The Supreme Court on Thursday turned down the appointment of former bureaucrat PJ Thomas, who is facing a corruption case in a Kerala court, as Central Vigilance Commissioner.
The apex court, which had on February 10 reserved its on petitions challenging the appointment of Thomas, said the appointment was illegal and that he must go. The apex court further said criminal case should have been considered.
Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj after the Supreme Court judgement said that the dignity of the office of the Central Vigilance Commission has been restored, and welcomed the verdict.
Earlier, a bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia reserved their orders after hearing arguments from various sides, including those by Prashant Bhushan, counsel for petitioner Centre for Public Interest Litigation, Thomas”s counsel KK Venugopal and Attorney General GE Vahanvati.
During the hearing, the bench wanted to know if the Leader of the Opposition can have a veto power in the process of CVC’s appointment.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan pointed out that the purpose of having the Leader of Opposition on the panel was to ensure that the government does not steamroll the selection process.
During the hearing, senior advocate Venugopal argued that irrespective of placement of all materials before the panel, the process of appointment will not be vitiated. Read More
