BackSupreme Court clears way for CVC, VC appointments
10 applicants have been shortlisted for each of the posts, the attorney general informed the court on Wednesday
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the government to proceed with appointments to the posts of central vigilance commissioner (CVC) and vigilance commissioner (VC).
The apex court on 17 December had asked the government to seek its leave before moving ahead with the appointments. The court is considering a petition filed by not-for-profit Centre for Integrity, Governance and Training in Vigilance Administration, which claimed that the government followed an opaque process in making appointments to the two posts.
On Wednesday, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told the court that 10 applicants had been shortlisted for each of the posts by the government, which received almost 130 applications.
Rohatgi said that the “purpose of transparency had been achieved" and that the lists were ready to be placed before the panel that chooses the CVC and VC. The panel is made up of the prime minister, the home minister and the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
A bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, while making way for the appointments to be made, noted the “importance and urgency" associated with the posts of the CVC and VC, which have been vacant since September last year. The court also asked the government to furnish details of the appointments after they are made.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner, took issue with the shortlisting process, which has been done by a committee of three secretaries—secretary of the department of personnel and training, cabinet secretary and finance secretary.
“There is no authority given to the government to say that the shortlisting will be done by three secretaries," Bhushan told the court.
Rohatgi countered by saying that the committee’s decision was not binding on the appointing body. The court asked for the entire list (and not just the shortlists) to be placed before the appointing committee.
The apex court also declined Bhushan’s request to make the names of the applicants public, saying they were part of confidential records.
The Congress president Sonia Gandhi on 6 May had criticized the government for not making crucial appointments at vital institutions, including the CVC, during an intervention in the Lok Sabha.
Anuja contributed to this story.
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