Pratibha Patil cancels appointment of PJ Thomas as CVC

New Delhi, Mar 15: After the UPA government had to face embarrassment over the appointment of PJ Thomas as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner, there seems to be more in store for them after President Pratibha Patil also cancelled Thomas' appointment on Monday (Mar 14).

The Supreme Court had earlier slammed the CVC appointment and had ruled that the government had made major lapses in his selection and overlooked his involvement in the Palmolein scam. A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said in a brief statement that "the president has signed the warrant of cancellation of appointment of PJ Thomas as CVC today."

The apex court quashing his appointment had said that the high-power committee involved in the selection had not taken into consideration the charge sheet filed in his name. The court stated, "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."

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had sent a note to the President following the receipt of the copy that said that the PM was not aware of the charges against Thomas.The PM had also commented on the debacle when he said that he had made an "error of judgment" in the CVC appointment.

With Thomas' fate more or less decided, the government will now have to scout for a new CVC. Meanwhile, Thomas has appealed to the Supreme Court to review its judgment on the allegations against him.

OneIndia News