Common Cause Interventions

COMMON CAUSE PETITIONS ON CAG

A Thorough Selection Criteria ‘Must’ for an Effective Institution 

Swapna Jha*



The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is an oversight agency whose vast potential stretches beyond its constitutional auditing mandate. So far, the appointments to the post have been based on an opaque and arbitrary method. The common thread running through the last several CAG appointments is fairly well established. Only an officer holding the rank of Secretary to the Government of India has been appointed as CAG. Inevitably, the arbitrariness in the appointment compromises the independence of this high functionary. 

The Story So Far 

Several appeals to the court for transparency in the appointment of this crucial constitutional post have met with little success so far. Common Cause has been campaigning since 1996 for a transparent, broad-based procedure for the CAG appointment. As the term of C G Somiah approached its end in March 1996, Common Cause filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court (SC). It sought directions to evolve and follow a policy, including guidelines prescribing the requisite 

Common Cause has consistently stood for a thorough selection criteria and emphasised on a candidate’s high degree of professional knowledge and background as well as impeccable integrity

Qualification/ experience, for the appointment but the petition was rejected.1 The government later appointed V K Shunglu as the new CAG, the criteria for whose selection were never made public. In 2007, Public Cause Research Foundation filed a writ in the apex court with similar prayers, which also met the same fate. Common Cause has consistently stood for a thorough selection criteria and emphasised on a candidate’s high degree of professional knowledge and background as well as impeccable integrity. It has maintained that the appointing authority must cast its net wider rather than insisting on just one service. The contenders should be experienced in financial management, audit and accounting procedures, rounded off with a deep understanding of the complexities of governance and a vision of the future of our democratic polity.

Jounral PDF

July-September, 2018