Pradeep Kumar sworn in as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner

New Delhi: Pradeep Kumar was sworn in today as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), the country's anti-corruption watchdog.

Mr Kumar, who was the Defence Secretary earlier, took oath as the new CVC at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Mr Kumar had been unanimously selected by a three-member committee consisting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union 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.

Mr Kumar's appointment comes in the wake of former CVC PJ Thomas' appeal to President Pratibha Patil yesterday to not appoint a successor till the court decided on his petition. He filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court saying the new 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."

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But the Delhi High Court refused to grant an urgent hearing on Mr Thomas' plea.

In March this year, the Supreme Court had criticised Mr Thomas' appointment by the government saying that the corruption charges pending against him should have ruled him out for a job that requires him to check corruption among government officials and bureaucrats.

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The court also said that the PM's selection committee had not considered the relevant documents for his case, and that it had ignored earlier recommendations for action against him listed by the Department of Personnel and Training.

Mr 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. Mr 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. Mr Thomas enjoyed a series of promotions which saw him being deputed to the Centre.