SC refuses to pass direction on appointment of CAG

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition seeking laying down of guidelines for the appointment of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. "Guidelines have to come through some legislation in accordance with the Constitution," a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said. "We will not give any direction for the laying down of guidelines for the appointment. You have to find the guidelines in the Constitution," the Bench, also comprising Justice P Sathasivam, observed. The Court declined to go into the petitioner's plea that the issue was needed to be discussed to keep at bay the appointment of "blue-eyed boys of the government" to the post, which has a tenure of six years. The PIL filed by NGO Public Cause Research Foundation contended that a proper procedure has to be laid down for the appointment of CAG since the power assigned to the post was equivalent to that of an apex court judge. When advocate Kamini Jaiswal, appearing for the NGO, said that during the pendency of the petition, the Centre has appointed Vinod Rai as the CAG, the Bench said "you are confining your argument to a particular person". She said in the absence of any guidelines or procedure, retiring bureaucrats with no experience of accounts and audit were getting appointed as CAG. In case, a Secretary of a particular department or ministry, like Defence or Petroleum, takes up the post there would be a conflict of interest as he or she might have to inquire into deals that they themselves executed during their tenure, she said.

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