I respect SC verdict on P J Thomas, says PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said he respected the Supreme Court verdict on the quashing of the appointment of P J Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

"I respect the Supreme Court verdict," he said when asked to comment on the apex court judgement.

Parliament sources said that a statement would be made on behalf of the government in both the Houses. A high-power committee, headed by the prime minister, had cleared the appointment of Thomas, the then Union telecom secretary, to the Constitutional post.

Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, a member of the three-member high-power committee, had made known her disagreement to the government proposal of appointing Thomas as CVC.

Home Minister P Chidambaram is the other member. Dealing a big blow to the Central government, the Supreme Court struck down the appointment of Thomas as CVC, holding that the recommendation made by the high-powered panel did not consider the relevant material and, therefore, its advice "does not exist in law".

60-year-old Thomas, facing a corruption case in a Kerala court relating to Palmolein import scam, resigned immediately after the apex court gave its keenly awaited verdict, just six months after the former bureaucrat was appointed as the 14th CVC.