"Petition seeks amendment of Constitution", SG Mehta tells SC on plea challenging CAG appointment
The Supreme Court today allowed 4 weeks to the Centre to file its counter to a petition challenging the appointment process of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi today, and requested for some time to file a response.
SG Mehta further told the bench that the petitions sought amendment of the Constitution of India, which outlines the process of the CAG appointment.
"This seeks to amend the Constitution, but anyway, I would request 4 weeks to file my counter..", SG told the bench.
Supreme Court in March this year had issued notice on the instant petition which seeks to make the appointment process more transparent and independent.
The petition argues that the CAG should be appointed by an independent selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India.
In March, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), had told the supreme court that CAG is no longer considered independent as it was known to be. "The constitution also provided how judges will be appointed.. but then this court reinterpreted it to ensure independence of judiciary", court was further told.
When the court had enquired whether there had been any recent "deviation" that could cast doubt on the CAG’s independence, Bhushan stressed the need to safeguard the institution’s autonomy and alleged that audits of states like Maharashtra were being deliberately stalled.
The following prayers have been made in the instant PIL:
1. Declare the practice of appointment of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) solely by the Executive and the Prime Minister as being violative of Article 14 and Basic Structure of the Constitution;
2. A direction mandating that the Comptroller And Auditor General Of India (CAG) shall be appointed by the President of India in consultation with an independent and neutral selection committee comprising of the Prime Minister of India, Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India;
3. A direction to Union of India to forthwith place all details and documents regarding the persons being proposed to be made CAG in the public domain in like manner as it has been directed to do with reference to judicial appointments made to Central Information Commission vide judgment of this Hon’ble Court in Anjali Bhardwaj & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors Writ Petition No.436 of 2018, (2019) 18 SCC 246.
Case Title: Centre for Public Interest Litigation vs. Union of India & Ors.
Hearing Date: August 1, 2025
Bench: Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi