NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a PIL challenging the current system of appointing the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) solely by the government, contending that it was “manifestly arbitrary, detrimental to institutional integrity and violates several basic features of the constitution”.
Filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, the PIL sought a direction that the CAG shall be appointed in a transparent manner by the President in consultation with an independent and neutral selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and the Chief Justice of India.
The PIL which is listed before a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh on March 17 said the system for appointment of CAG should be similar to the appointment of other bodies, including information commissions and the Central Vigilance Commission.
The PIL alleged that the present system of appointment of the CAG done solely by the executive i.e. by the PM who handpicks any individual and recommends his name to the President for appointment was unconstitutional being violative of Article 14 and several basic features of the Constitution. It also alleged several instances of political and executive interference with the functioning of CAG.