Had Govt kept its word, it would have avoided SC fire

Had Finance Minister Jaswant Singh stuck to the original draft of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) Bill or had he, at least, kept h...

Had Finance Minister Jaswant Singh stuck to the original draft of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) Bill or had he, at least, kept his word to the Lok Sabha, the Government would have been spared the embarrassment it suffered last Friday in the Supreme Court.

For, Section 9 of the 2001 Bill said that the chairperson and members of the CCI shall be chosen by a selection committee headed by ‘‘the Chief Justice of India or nominee.’’


Jaswant said CJI ‘may’ be involved; Jaitley headed panel

If this had not been amended as it was in November 2002, Chief Justice V N Khare himself or his nominee would have been involved in the selection of the CCI chairperson. And so there would have been no scope for the court to object.

Story continues below this ad

On Friday, a bench headed by Justice Khare expressed outrage over the selection of Commerce Secretary Dipak Chatterjee as CCI chief. Friday was also the day Chatterjee was to take charge in his new job.

While the bench called it a ‘‘direct attempt’’ to encroach upon the judiciary, those in the Government are calling it a turf war.

Lost in this din is the fact that the Government’s setback is directly a result of its amendment to the Bill introduced in Parliament in 2001.

The Government seems to have had second thoughts on Section 9 as it would have effectively meant that the CCI chairperson would always be a judicial person even though another provision, Section 8, gave the option of that post being open to anybody who has ‘‘special knowledge’’ or ‘‘professional experience’’ of subjects such as international trade, economics and business.

Story continues below this ad

So it re-introduced the Bill in the last winter session with an amended Section 9, which simply said: ‘‘The chairperson and other members shall be selected in the manner as may be prescribed.’’

In other words, the selection committee would not necessarily be headed by the Chief Justice or his nominee. The new provision left the composition of the selection committee entirely to the discretion of the Government.

Sure enough, after the amended Bill was passed by both Houses in the same session, the Government in April 2003 notified rules stating that the selection committee shall be headed by retired judge or a jurist or a senior advocate.

The rules also made it clear that the Government would nominate the selection committee on its own.

Story continues below this ad

Subsequently, Law Minister Arun Jaitley was chosen to head a three-member selection committee presumably in his capacity as a jurist or a senior advocate. And it was, in turn, this committee which opted for Chatterjee on the basis of his expertise in economic reforms.

Even otherwise, the Government could have still averted the judicial rap if it had honoured the promise it made in Lok Sabha just before the amended Bill was passed on December 13.

Responding to the concerns of MPs, Jaswant Singh had said that the selection of the CCI’s chairperson and members would be made by a ‘‘collegium’’ which he added ‘‘may consist of Chief Justice of India’’ and others.

Jaitley’s nomination as the head of the selection committee belied that assurance—in spirit if not in letter.

Story continues below this ad

BUREAUCRAT RESHUFFLE: Govt ducks for cover, scraps its appointments

Pradeep Kaushal
New Delhi, November 3

Signalling that the Supreme Court’s strictures had hit home, the Government in an unprecedented order today officially cancelled the appointment of Commerce Secretary Dipak Chatterjee as the chairman of the newly constituted Competition Commission. Chatterjee attains superannuation on June 30 next year.

This cancellation by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) comes three days after the Supreme Court’s strong objection to the appointment of a bureaucrat to a quasi-judicial post.

As a chain reaction, Textiles Secretary S B Mohapatra, Fertiliser Secretary Nripendra Mishra, Additional Secretary in the Coal Ministry Lakshmi Chand and another Additional Secretary in the Coal Ministry Arvind K. Singh — all have been asked to stay put.

Mohapatra had been earlier appointed as Commerce Secretary to take over from Chatterjee. Mishra was named as the successor to Mohapatra. Lakshmi Chand was scheduled to step in to Mishra’s shoes and Singh, in turn, had to replace Lakshmi Chand.

Story continues below this ad

Chand’s post, however, has been temporarily upgraded to Special Secretary.

Binoo Sen, Secretary in the Animal Husbandry Ministry, who was earlier posted as Secretary, Water Resources, has been now appointed as Steel Secretary. Sen replaces V K Duggal, who has been named Secretary, Water Resources Secretary. Duggal takes over from A K Goswami, who has retired.

Donald Trump may replace H-1B lottery with wage-based selection process

World1 hr ago

Days after hiking the fees for new H-1B applications to $100,000, the Donald Trump administration has proposed to overhaul the visa process for high-skilled non-immigrant workers. The Trump administration has suggested a wage-based selection process for the H-1B programme, instead of the current lottery system.

View all shorts

Live Blog