NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Union government on a plea, seeking a direction for appointment of Comptroller and Auditor General by a panel consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India, in a transparent manner.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh sought a response from the Centre on the plea filed by an NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation.
The petitioner led by advocate Prashant Bhushan questioned validity of the current practice of appointment of the Comptroller and Auditor General solely by the executive and the Prime Minister, claiming this was violative of the Constitutional provisions.
The bench tagged it with the pending matter on the same issue.
In his arguments, Bhushan said the issue was of independence of the institution.
He claimed that audits by CAG of states like Maharashtra, where the BJP is ruling the state, are being stalled. In recent times, the CAG has lost its independence, he alleged.
The bench asked him to bring on record any instance of "deviation" in recent years to doubt the independence of CAG.
Bhushan contended that the number of the CAG reports have been reduced and the staff strength was declining.
He argued that the court had earlier intervened in connection with the appointments of the CBI Director and the chief election commissioner to ensure their independence. Bhushan vehemently argued that similar directions are necessary for the CAG too.
“We have to trust our institutions also,” the bench said.
The court referred to Article 148 of the Constitution, which specified that the CAG has the same level of protection as an apex court judge regarding removal from office.
The court ultimately decided to examine the matter.
The petitioner sought the direction of the court mandating that the CAG should be appointed by the President in consultation with an independent and neutral selection committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and the Chief Justice of India.
The plea said that the direction for appointment of the CAG should be similar to the appointment of other bodies, including information commissions and the Central Vigilance Commission.
