NEW DELHI:The appointment of CVC and VC is delayed due to pressure from leaders and lawyers to bring transparency in the selection process. “Ashok Thakur, who retired as Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development in September last year, is also tipped to become next CVC or VC. Thakur was earlier in the race of Cabinet Secretary but government gave another extension to Ajit Seth,” sources added.
A reliable source said K V Chowdary, former CBDT chairman and now advisor to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing black money could also be choice of the government. Chowdary, a 1978-batch IRS officer, earlier served as member (investigation), CBDT and Director General of I-T (Investigations).
Sources said that there are some former chairmen and managing directors of PSU banks, including S L Bansal, former CMD Oriental Bank of Commerce and R K Dubey, former CMD of Canara Bank, are also in the race.
Facing the heat over a PIL filed by NGO, Centre for Integrity, Governance and Training in vigilance administration, the Centre last month clarified to the apex court that it has received 120 applications for CVC and VC posts, and it was in the process of vetting the applications. It informed the court that a committee headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth with two other members—Secretary, Financial Services, Hasmukh Adhia and Secretary, Personnel, Sanjay Kothari—will scrutinise all the applications and shortlist the candidates rationally by recording the reasons.
“The committee will shortlist a panel of about 10 names of the candidates in each category under 3 (3)(a)-All India Service Officers or Clause (b)-former chairman of CPSE or eminent persons with experience in enterprise, banking, insurance or vigilance... a total of about 20 names of the candidates shall be shortlisted for placing before the selection committee for consideration,” a government affidavit filed in January stated. The selection committee is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with two other members, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Mallikarjun Kharge.
However, the NGO in a rejoinder affidavit on February 2, 2015 questioned the legal standing of Cabinet Secretary-headed committee that is constituted to shortlist a panel of 20 probable candidates. The NGO said there is no provisions in the CVC act for setting up such a committee. “The constitution of the so-called committee is wholly illegal and contrary to law,” it said, adding that empanelling 10 persons from each of the above categories is wholly arbitrary.
Additionally, in a letter to Prime Minister Modi on December 27, 2014, Kharge also said the Centre must appoint a search committee as envisaged in Lokpal Act for transparency.
“To ensure transparency in the appointment of this key constitutional office, it shall be prudent if the selection committee would appoint a search committee to scrutinise all the received applications. The absence of a search committee narrows the ability of the selection committee to objectively assess and short-list applications,” Kharge wrote.
Eminent lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani has charged that the government vacancy was not adequately publicised which makes the selection a mockery. Jethmalani also questioned the committee headed by the bureaucrats for shortlisting candidates.
“This procedure is wholly void as repugnant to the Act. People have confidence in this committee (headed by PM Modi) and not the bureaucrats who of a thousand applications will dispose of 990 and send the names of only 10 applicants to the committee,” Jethmalani wrote in a letter to Prime Minister in December 2014.
He further suggested that officers involved in scrutiny and shortlisting must be selected by the committee. “They should be your (PM) delegates and acting under your supervision and supplying you all necessary information in their possession about all applications that committee cares to know about,” Jethmalani further added.
The Selection saga
A. K. Handa, Chairman, Centre for Integrity, Governance & Training on Vigilance Administration (CIGVA) in August 2014 filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking transparency in the CVC selection. Senior Lawyer for CIGVA, Ram Jethmalani had termed the CVC Act, as a badly drafted legislation that needed to be overhauled. The government in a response to CIGVA PIL told the Supreme Court that no final decision on CVC appointment will be taken without its nod. In its rejoinder affidavit on February 2, 2015, the NGO said CVC is an integrity institution and it has to be ensured that a candidate is not recomended whose selection may adversely affect institutional comptetence and functioning of CVC. The NGO fighting for the transparency has also accused the government of changing the cut off date and vacancy date in an arbitrary manner.