Pressure mounts on vigilance chief P J Thomas to quit

Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P J Thomas is widely expected to step down after the Supreme Court today questioned the tenability of his monitoring the investigations into the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

The SC bench of justices G S Singhvi and Ashok Kumar Ganguly asked the government counsel how could PJ Thomas, who took decisions that cost the exchequer Rs1,76,000 crore in the worst-ever scam, be allowed to supervise the alleged malpractice probe in the same 2G spectrum allocation.

The apex court questioned the track record of Thomas, who was secretary of the department of telecommunications at the time of the murky 2G spectrum deals and criticised the central government for entrusting the probe to one who was at the centre of the alleged acts of corruption in the allocation of 2G spectrum then.

The 2G scam where licences for telecom spectrum were given to companies at throwaway prices in 2008, had forced A Raja to resign as telecom minister early this month.

"At that time he (Thomas) was functioning as telecom secretary. It would be difficult for him to objectively monitor," the judges said, adding, "He had justified the actions which are being subject to scrutiny by this court and the CBI. It would be difficult for him to objectively supervise."

The Supreme Court's own assessment of conflict of interest in Thomas supervising the telecom scandal probe has come as a morale booster for the opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).