SC quashes appointment of Thomas as CVC, Thomas resigns

New Delhi, Mar 3 (PTI) Dealing a big blow to United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the Indian apex court
on Thursday quashed the appointment of P J Thomas as Central
Vigilance Commissioner, holding that the recommendation made
by the high-powered panel--headed by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh--did not consider the relevant material and therefore
its advice "does not exist in law".
60-year-old Thomas, facing a corruption case in a
Kerala court relating to Palmolein import scam, resigned
immediately after the apex court gave its keenly awaited
verdict, just six months after the former bureaucrat was
appointed as the 14th CVC.
"He has resigned. The Supreme Court has also held his
appointment as illegal," Law Minister Veerappa Moily told
reporters.
A bench comprising Chief Justice S H Kapadia and
justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swatantra Kumar said, "We
declare that the recommendation made by the high-powered
committee is non-est in law. Which means that the
recommendations made on September 3, 2010 does not exist
in law. Consequently, the appointment of Thomas goes."
In comments that came as an embarassment for the prime
minister, the bench severely criticised the committee for not
considering the relevant material including the pending
criminal case against Thomas in the Palmolein import case and
the recommendations of the DoPT between 2000-04 for initiating
disciplinary proceedings against him.
"It is the duty of the high-powered committee (HPC) to
not to recommend the name of a person who can affect the
institutional integrity of the CVC," the bench said, adding
the institutional integrity and the integrity of a person
holding the post of CVC is the touchstone of the office under
the CVC Act.
The court said the HPC failed to consider relevant
material against Thomas and the entire focus was on his
bio-data and none of the government bodies including the DoPT
focussed on larger issue of institutional integrity.