I/III. Adish Aggarwala moves SC against ex-CJI Sathasivam's proposed appointment as NHRC head
(Source: <http://barandbench.com/content/212/senior-advocate-adish-aggarwala-moves-supreme-court>.) II/III. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-moved-against-making-sathasivam-nhrc-chief/article7114971.ece NEWS >> NATIONAL NEW DELHI, April 18, 2015 Updated: April 18, 2015 03:09 IST SC moved against making Sathasivam NHRC chief LEGAL CORRESPONDENT Centre has already obtained his consent without considering the other eligible former CJIs, says petition. ***The Supreme Court will look into a petition alleging that the Centre is illegally considering the former Chief Justice of India and Kerala Governor, P. Sathasivam, as the sole candidate for chairperson of the National Human Right Commission.*** [Emphasis added.] The post is due to fall vacant in May, with the exit of the incumbent, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan. The statute requires a former Chief Justice of India to hold it. The petition, filed by the Bar Association of India, was mentioned before a Bench led by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu. "Let us see," he responded to the request to take up the petition made by senior advocates S.P. Singh and Adish C. Aggarwala on Friday. The petition said the Centre had ignored "proper procedure" while considering Justice Sathasivam to lead the top human rights body. It said the Centre had already obtained the consent of Justice Sathasivam without considering the other eligible former Chief Justices of India, including Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice S.H. Kapadia. It alleged that undue preference was being shown to one candidate, who, if selected, would bring to the fore a sense of conflict of interest as Justice Sathasivam is now part of the executive arm. "He is no longer eligible to be appointed NHRC Chairperson. It is submitted that one cannot associate with politics/politicians and still possess the purity of a judge...On the shift from the position of Governor to chairperson of the Commission, he will continue to be seen as a representative of the ruling political party. He will always owe a debt of gratitude to the government for having appointed him Governor," the petition said. III. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/lawyers-body-moves-supreme-court-on-nhrc-chairperson-appointment/ Lawyers' body moves Supreme Court on NHRC chairperson appointment Justice Sathasivam took over as Governor of Kerala on September 5, 2014. By: Press Trust of India | New Delhi | Published on:April 17, 2015 8:26 pm A lawyers' body on Friday moved the Supreme Court against any moves for appointing former Chief Justice of India Justice P Sathasivam for the post of Chairman in National Human Rights Commission. The petition filed by All India Bar Association (AIBA), also seeking direction to the Centre to frame a transparent selection procedure and take consent from other available former CJIs who are below the age of 70 years, was mentioned before a bench comprising Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra. "Let me see the papers," the CJI said after senior advocate S P Singh sought urgent hearing on the petition filed through AIBA's chairman Adish C. Aggarwala. The petition cited media reports suggesting that Justice Sathasivam, who is now the Governor of Kerala is being solely considered to succeed former CJI K G Balakrishnan as the NHRC Chief. It said there are other former CJIs-Justices R M Lodha, Altamas Kabir and S H Kapadia-but the Centre has not only considered but has already obtained consent of Justice Sathasivam for his appointment as Chairperson of the NHRC. Besides some allegations, the lawyers' body in its petition raised issue of conflict of interest contending that Sathasivam being a part of the executive arm should be kept away from the post of NHRC which receives complaints of rights violation against government. It contended that the proper procedure as laid down under the Protection of Human Rights Act for appointment of the Chairperson was not being followed and undue preference was being given to one candidate. Justice Sathasivam took over as Governor of Kerala on September 5, 2014. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
