Updated January 13th, 2019 at 22:08 IST
Justice AK Sikri withdraws consent to be a CSAT member after controversy breaks out regarding his ouster of Alok Verma
Justice AK Sikri has withdrawn his consent to be a member of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, after sources had stated that he was recommended by the government
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As per Sources, Part of justice Sikri letter withdrawing his consent
“I am at pain to note in some quarters my aforesaid nomination is being connected with certain developments which happened a couple of days ago even though there is no correlation. Be that it may I do not want any such controversy to take place even when it is totally misconceived. I, therefore, withdraw my consent.
Justice AK Sikri has withdrawn his consent to be a member of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, after sources had stated that he was recommended by the government for that post.
The decision taken by Justice Sikri comes after a controversy surfaced questioning his appointment to the London based tribunal days after he took a stand for removal of Alok Verma as the CBI director. Sources have suggested that justice Justice Sikri is unlikely to accept any post retirement job after his retirement from the Supreme Court.
The government was understood to have recommended Supreme Court Judge A K Sikri's name as India's nominee for president/member in the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT). Official sources said nomination of Sikri, who retires on March 6, was made last month following an internal process carried out by the Law Ministry.
Justice Sikri, the second senior-most judge in the apex court after Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, was part of the three-member panel along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior Congress leader Mallikajurn Kharge which decided on removal of Alok Verma from the post of CBI Director.
Sikri's vote proved crucial to remove Verma from his post as Kharge opposed the move strongly while the government was pushing for Verma's sacking. Justice Sikri supported the government. He claimed that some charges in the CVC report requires further probe as a prima facie case is made out against Verma
The External Affairs Ministry communicated to CSAT about India's nomination, the sources said. There was no reaction from either the Ministry of External Affairs or the Ministry of Law and Justice on it.
The Commonwealth Secretariat, established in 1965, plays the role of an arbiter in case of disputes among its 53 member-countries. The CSAT has a total of eight members, including its president. The members are picked up on the basis of regional representations. A CSAT member has a tenure of four years.
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Published January 13th, 2019 at 20:23 IST