NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Centre on a plea saying that the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha be treated as the Leader of the Opposition and included in high-level committees involved in the appointment of heads of statutory bodies like the CBI, the CVC, the CIC and the Lokpal.
In the present Lok Sabha, the Congress is the single largest opposition party but does not have the minimum 10 per cent of the total strength of the House, or 55 seats, which is required to be eligible for the Leader of Opposition status.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued notice to the Centre and the four statutory bodies on a PIL filed by the NGO Youth for Equality. The PIL sought a direction that wherever the appointing committee includes the Leader of the Opposition, the same may be read as to mean the leader of the single largest opposition party in Parliament.
The court also sought response from the Centre on a plea seeking the quashing of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.