The appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner P.J. Thomas on Monday came under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court as it summoned the file relating to his appointment giving Attorney General of India two weeks’ time to produce the same.
“First show us the file… we would like to see the file… to examine it on two aspects the eligibility and consultancy,” a bench of Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia and Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar told AG Goolam E. Vahanvati.
The unprecedented move from the SC came on public interest litigations by former Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh and NGO Centre for PILs, questioning Thomas’ appointment when a chargesheet against him was still pending before a court in Kerala in the palmolein oil import scam.
As the AG said that Thomas was an officer of “outstanding” capabilities and allegations in the chargesheet could not be “gospel truth”, the CJI told him that if the criteria for the appointment was “outstanding record of a civil servant, we will not go into the charges, we will only see if the man is outstanding civil servant in the view of the chargesheet.”
The AG insisted that the basic criteria was that a person to be appointed should be an officer of outstanding record but if his name had figured in a case, it would not mean that he was not outstanding.
But the top court said there was a difference between “suitability and objectivity.”
***
‘Give ATR on package to Pandits’
Age correspondent
New Delhi
Nov. 8: Even as the Kashmir issue is figuring prominently in the nationwide debate on President Barak Obama’s visit, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to place before it action taken report on implementation of the economic package for five lakh Kashmiri Pandits forced to leave the valley by terrorists 20 years ago.
A bench, headed by Chief Jutice S.H. Kapadia issued the order on production of ATS by the Centre within four weeks after an organisation of Pandits — All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS) — alleged that despite the PM announcing a package of Rs. 1,618 crore, its implementation on the ground level was “shoddy”.
“More than 2000 Kashmiri Pandits were killed before they were forced to leave the valley in 1989 but till date not even one person has been prosecuted,” senior advocate T K Ganju said.