New Delhi: Former Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) PJ Thomas has appealed to President Pratibha Patil to wait for the outcome of his plea in court before the new CVC is appointed. In March this year, the Supreme Court declared that appointment of Thomas as India's CVC was invalid.
Yesterday, Thomas filed a writ petition in Delhi High Court saying new the CVC should be appointed only after a decision is taken on his March application.
"The SC judgement was delivered by a three-judge bench whereas it should have been a five-judge bench. Then the legality and validity of this judgement itself is disputed," Will Mathews, Counsel for PJ Thomas, told NDTV. He added that the new CVC should be appointed "only when the legality and validity of this judgement is verified."
Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar is scheduled to be sworn in as the next CVC tomorrow. Pradeep Kumar was unanimously selected by a three-member committee consisting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj earlier this month. He is a Haryana cadre IAS officer of the 1972 batch, and was Secretary, Defence Production, before becoming the Defence Secretary.
Thomas was selected in September 2010 by the three-member committee. In March this year, the Supreme Court said that the corruption charges pending against Thomas should have ruled him out for a job that requires him to check corruption among government officials and bureaucrats.
Thomas was a senior bureaucrat in Kerala in the early 90s when he allegedly pushed the government to allow the import of edible oil or palmolein. The deal ended up costing the government crores. Thomas was charged with corruption in a criminal case, but because of the political sensitivities of those named with him, the case progressed in fits and starts, depending on which government was in power in Kerala. Thomas enjoyed a series of promotions which saw him being deputed to the Centre.
Yesterday, Thomas filed a writ petition in Delhi High Court saying new the CVC should be appointed only after a decision is taken on his March application.
"The SC judgement was delivered by a three-judge bench whereas it should have been a five-judge bench. Then the legality and validity of this judgement itself is disputed," Will Mathews, Counsel for PJ Thomas, told NDTV. He added that the new CVC should be appointed "only when the legality and validity of this judgement is verified."
Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar is scheduled to be sworn in as the next CVC tomorrow. Pradeep Kumar was unanimously selected by a three-member committee consisting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj earlier this month. He is a Haryana cadre IAS officer of the 1972 batch, and was Secretary, Defence Production, before becoming the Defence Secretary.
Thomas was selected in September 2010 by the three-member committee. In March this year, the Supreme Court said that the corruption charges pending against Thomas should have ruled him out for a job that requires him to check corruption among government officials and bureaucrats.
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Thomas was a senior bureaucrat in Kerala in the early 90s when he allegedly pushed the government to allow the import of edible oil or palmolein. The deal ended up costing the government crores. Thomas was charged with corruption in a criminal case, but because of the political sensitivities of those named with him, the case progressed in fits and starts, depending on which government was in power in Kerala. Thomas enjoyed a series of promotions which saw him being deputed to the Centre.
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