Adish Aggarwala moves SC against ex-CJI Sathasivam’s proposed appointment as NHRC head [Updated]

Former Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam’s troubles seem to be far from over. Senior Advocate and President of All India Bar Association, Adish C Aggarwala has now moved the Supreme Court to stop the proposed appointment of Justice Sathasivam as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)..Aggarwala mentioned the matter before the court presided by Chief Justice HL Dattu today who said that the matter will be taken up in the “due course”..The Article 32 petition filed by Aggarwala has alleged violation of Article 14 of the Constitution on the ground that the sole candidature of Justice Sathasivam for the post of NHRC Chairperson is arbitrary and without following the procedure laid down by the Supreme Court in the cases of Namit Sharma v. Union of India [2013 (1) SCC 745] and Centre for PIL v. Union of India [2011 (4) SCC 1]..As per the petition,.…according to the press reports (Deccan Herald, dated 26.3.2015) and other news articles available on the web are to be believed, unmindful of the above, the Central Government is not only considering but has already obtained consent of Justice P. Sathasivam for his appointment as Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission without considering other eligible former Chief Justices of India including Justice RM Lodha, Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice S.H. Kapadia.Failure to obtaining consent of these former Chief Justices for consideration for appointment as NHRC Chairperson and obtaining consent of only Justice Sathasivam despite tainted background would render the selection process faulty and amenable to challenge. There is no due procedure of appointment and there is no empanelment or a search committee. It is humbly submitted that the process of selection has to be constitutional, non-arbitrary and in a manner that enables the selection of best person for the office.”.The petition also states that Justice Sathasivam is not the fit person for the job due to his alleged corrupt credentials including murky deals to favour his close relatives. The petitioner has submitted that,.“Further, it is in knowledge of the Petitioner herein that there are various allegations that Justice Sathasivam had misused his judicial office to obtain a huge array of land from the Tamil Nadu Government for the mother of his daughter-in-law and also that Justice Sathasivam had secured Maruti car agency (Aadhi) for his son Mr. Srinivasan in Coimbatore by getting waived the requirement of security deposit of Rs. 5 Crores.”.Aggarwala has further contended that the selection for a high post like NHRC Chairman should be consistent with Article 14 of the Constitution implying that it should be a non-arbitrary selection process based on definite criteria, “call for applications” and nominations, followed by a transparent and objective selection..He has also submitted that since Justice Sathasivam is now serving as Governor of Kerala, it would come in conflict with his role as NHRC Chairman and he is therefore, not eligible to be appointed to that post..“Because, the appointment of Justice Sathasivam will bring conflict of interest as Justice Sathasivam is now part of the executive arm, he is no longer eligible to be appointed Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission.…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 and will be under pressure to side with the Government or the ruling political establishment to redeem this debt. If there is loss of public confidence, the same will have a devastating effect on the efficacy of the institution.”.Aggarwala has, therefore, prayed for a direction to the Central government to not consider the sole candidature of Justice Sathasivam for NHRC Chairmanship. He has also sought for a direction to be issued to the Centre to appoint the Chairperson in accordance with the law laid down by the Supreme Court in Namit Sharma v. Union of India and Centre for PIL v. Union of India. Aggarwala has also prayed for a direction to frame a,.“transparent selection procedure based on definite criteria and by preparation of empanelment of all the Retired former Chief Justices of India who are below the age of 70 years after taking their respective consent as well as the complete information, material and comparative data of the empanelled persons before the Committee as contemplated under Section 4 of the Act which will recommend the most suitable person for appointment as the Chairperson, NHRC to the President of India.”.Last year, Justice Sathasivam’s appointment as Kerala Governor had also met with stiff opposition though the Supreme Court had dismissed the petition challenging the same..Update April 27, 2014: The matter was listed today as item 74 in the Chief Justice’ court but Aggarwala chose to withdraw the petition. Speaking to media persons outside the Court, he said that he had received information that the government was considering other eligible persons for the post of NHRC Chairperson and, therefore, withdrew the petition.