The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the government to consult it before appointing the Central Vigilance Commissioner and Vigilance Commissioner.
Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi assured that all the relevant records pertaining to the selection process would be filed in the Supreme Court in a sealed cover.
The hearing was on a PIL filed by NGO Centre for Integrity, Governance and Training in Vigilance Administration that the government had not given wide publicity to the vacancies in the top anti-corruption body after the completion of tenure of then CVC Pradip Kumar and then VC J.M. Garg.
Enumerating the selection process, the Attorney-General submitted that the Cabinet Secretary and 36 other secretaries propose the names of 120 people for the post out of which 20 names are taken and five people are shortlisted and forwarded to the selection committee.
The PIL had referred to the July 21 letter issued by the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), to secretaries in the government to suggest names for empanelment for the post of CVC and VC, allegedly aimed at keeping away common people.
The petition had said that for being appointed as the CVC or a Vigilance Commissioner, a candidate must have experience in the area as provided in the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013. It had contended that that provisions of CVC Act 2013, relating to the appointment of CVC and Vigilance Commissioner were arbitrary and in breach of the Article 14 — equality before the law — of the Constitution.
