The Supreme Court asked the Union government on Thursday to examine ways to broaden its zone of consideration beyond civil servants for appointments to the Central Vigilance Commission and make the process transparent.
“It appears the government is restricting the appointment to one category of people [civil servants] whereas the statute provides others,” a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha observed.
The Bench said the search and selection of probable candidates should be transparent and inclusive. The court gave the government time till October 9 to file its response. The next hearing is scheduled for October 14.
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The court was hearing an application filed by the Centre for Integrity, Governance and Training in Vigilance Administration, a non-governmental organisation, challenging a July 21 letter issued by the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training.
The letter asks Secretaries in the government to sponsor names for empanelment for appointment to the post of Central Vigilance Commissioner when Pradip Kumar’s term ends on September 28 and to the post of Vigilance Commissioner vacated by J.M. Garg whose term ended on September 7.
Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi assured the court that no final decision would be taken on the appointments till the hearing was completed.
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The Bench said the letter showed that certain categories of officers were excluded from the selection at the very threshold as the Secretaries did not sponsor their names.
“By this restrictive procedure, how are you achieving the statutory guidelines and objectives? Legislative policies should be effectively and objectively implemented,” Chief Justice Lodha said.