A-G defends Sawhney’s appointment as SEC

Procedure not inconsistent with statute, he tells HC

Advocate-General (A-G) S. Sriram told the High Court on Friday that the suggestion of names of three IAS officers for the appointment of the State Election Commissioner (SEC) by the Chief Minister is not inconsistent with the scheme of the Constitution. Mr. Sriram argued, during the hearing on a petition that challenged the appointment of former Chief Secretary (CS) Nilam Sawhney as the SEC, that the Governor did not limit his consideration only to those names (Ms. Sawhney, L. Premachandra Reddy and M. Samuel) but applied certain objective parameters to the eligibility of 11 officers to the high post. He further said the neutrality of Ms. Sawhney could not be questioned for the reason that she was appointed as an adviser to the Chief Minister after her retirement as the CS.