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President Pratibha Patil cancels appointment of Thomas as CVC

Last updated on: March 15, 2011 00:56 IST
PJ Thomas with President Pratibha Patil
President Pratibha Patil cancelled the appointment of P J Thomas on Monday as Central Vigilance Commissioner, 11 days after the Supreme Court quashed his selection by a high-power committee headed by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said in a brief statement, "The President has signed the warrant of cancellation of appointment of P J Thomas as CVC."

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President Pratibha Patil cancels appointment of Thomas as CVC

Last updated on: March 15, 2011 00:56 IST
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court had on March three quashed the appointment of Thomas as CVC, saying the recommendation made by the HPC did not consider chargesheet relating to a corruption case pending against him.

"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 court had held.

President Pratibha Patil cancels appointment of Thomas as CVC

Last updated on: March 15, 2011 00:56 IST
Dr Manmohan Singh
The prime minister had accepted full responsibility for what he termed as an "error of judgment" while noting that there was no mention of the pending case against Thomas in the information provided to the panel by the Department of Personnel and Training.

The DoPT had sent a note to the President after obtaining the copy of the Supreme Court order. With the cancellation of his appointment, government can now proceed with the selection of a new CVC.

President Pratibha Patil cancels appointment of Thomas as CVC

Last updated on: March 15, 2011 00:56 IST
P J Thomas
The announcement came even as Thomas was preparing to approach the Supreme Court seeking a review of its judgment.

Thomas was selected last September by the three-member HPC, which had Home Minister P Chidambaram and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj as its members. Swaraj had put a dissenting note opposing the selection of Thomas.
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