CVC defends his appointment in Supreme Court

Central Vigilance Commissioner, PJ Thomas, today filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court defending his appointment.

In the affidavit, the CVC said that there was no sanction for his prosecution in the palmolein import case. He further said his case was not the only case of an honest officer getting central empanelment pending a chargesheet.

Thomas detailed his administrative experience to claim that he was eminently suited for the post.

In his affidavit he also claimed that his name was considered for empanelment for the post after the Central Vigilance Commission cleared his case, adding that he was the senior most bureaucrat to be considered for the CVC's job.

In an earlier affidavit filed in the apex court, Thomas had blamed politics for the controversy on his appointment as chief of the central vigilance body. In his latest affidavit he has reiterated his position of being victim of politics in Kerala.

During a Supreme Court hearing over his suitability for the CVC's post, the attorney-general had claimed that material relating to Thomas' case was not brought before the three-member selection c ommittee headed by the prime minister, which included home minister P Chidambaram and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.

This led to a political storm with Swaraj claiming the government was lying on the issue as she had in clear terms voiced her dissent at the time. She even said she would file an affidavit in the SC.

In a press conference yesterday, Chidambaram accepted that Thomas' case had been discussed in detail during the election meeting. With this Swaraj has announced she would not file the affidavit.