A Criminologist's Diary-44

A Criminolgist’s Diary-44

Account Criminology and Criminal Ju...

Appointment of the Central Vigilance Commission: Issues for rethinking.

The Central Vigilance Commission appointed by the Government of India is just unseated on the basis of a judgement from the Supreme Court of India. The Court found that the newly appointed Central Vigilance Commission (hereinafter CVC) was an accused in a vigilance case and thus he had a ‘Black Spot’ in his personality. According to the Court,’ Caesar’s wife should be beyond suspicion’ and so must be the CVC. The appointment was made by the President of India on the basis of the recommendation made by a panel consisting of the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. In spite of the opposition from the Leader of the Opposition, it is said that the appointment was made. Now, there is a country-wide discussion on the issue- i.e., about the merit of the case and the quality of the judgement. Some political leaders go to the extent of demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister. Here, therefore there are some criminological issues for rethinking and they should be appreciated with the principles in criminal justice administration and its delivery.

The issues are-

(1) In the Holy Bible, there is the case of a woman of ill-repute and notoriously known as a prostitute brought before Jesus Christ. The people wanted to stone at her as per their retributive principles of justice to death. Hearing their arguments, Christ Jesus told them that the one who did not have a sin or have not committed a sin ought to stone at her first. Hearing it, everyone left the spot without uttering a word. Borrowing the same principle of Jesus Christ and applying it to the present case of appointment of the CVC in India, let us make a proposition for the self-recruitment or self-appointment-

- i.e., let the one who has no crime or has not committed a crime must make a self-recruitment or self-appointment to the post of the CVC, then who will be able to make a self-appointment? Forget about that issue for the moment. Let us go to the next issue.

- (2) What is the delay that is found in the disposal of the above case of the CVC? Is that delay justifiable under the scale of human conscience to be called a normal delay? It is a principle that is accepted everywhere that when the law is enforced, justice should not be denied. Human Conscience is law and if the delay is due to no fault of the newly appointed CVC, or owing to a defective system of justice administration and its delivery, who must be blamed for the miscarriage of justice? A never ending or ever continuing process of law is not the way or method of establishing that Caesar’s wife is beyond suspicion. One can certainly be mad, but there should be a method in madness. Of course, there can be the delay in the disposal of a case, but there must be a ‘method’ in the delay. The inordinate delay is an inordinate delay in every case including the present one and judging the present case in the background of the inordinate delay, how far can one justify the unseating as just, fair and reasonable?

- (3) If one takes the history of appointments to the positions of the Chief Ministers, to the Home Ministers, to the Leaders of Opposition, to the Chief Justices of the higher Courts of Law in India and if we apply the principle of self-recruitment and self-appointment by following the law laid by Jesus Christ in the above parable which has more than 2000 years of existence, how many of the present ones will be eligible to hold the positions they have now? Many are not ‘beyond suspicion’ and some are people of suspicious integrity. Hence, this is the best time for each one of them to have an examination of his conscience before he stones at the CVC of India. Make a decision right now.

- (3) The post of the CVC of India, no doubt, is a statutory position and the method of appointment is through a panel stated above. Can we not think of a better method to recruit the CVC and if so what is it and how should it be? If that is done, the issues will never become political. Presently, many appointments to various Commissions under the State or Central Governments are made from the lists of people who are not qualitatively of ‘BEYOND SUSPICION’ category, rather are party men politically. It is time now to think about more objective type recruitment process to find out the apt and the best ones to those high positions in various Commissions in the Country.