{"id":39315,"date":"2025-03-18T18:28:47","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T12:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=39315"},"modified":"2025-03-18T18:28:49","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T12:58:49","slug":"cag-appointment-process-petition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-03-2025\/cag-appointment-process-petition","title":{"rendered":"Petition on CAG Appointment Process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Syllabus :GS 2\/Governance <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In News\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • The Supreme Court is examining a plea challenging the sole prerogative of the Centre<\/strong>, acting through the President, to appoint the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • The CAG plays a critical role in overseeing financial accountability of the Union, State governments, and Panchayati Raj institutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Constitutional provisions:<\/strong>\n
        \n
      • Article 148:<\/strong> The CAG is appointed by the President and can only be removed in the same manner as a Supreme Court judge.\n
          \n
        • The salary, allowances, and conditions of service of the CAG are determined by Parliament and cannot be changed to their disadvantage once appointed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • The CAG is ineligible for any further office after leaving the position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Article 149: <\/strong>The CAG is responsible for auditing the accounts of both the Union and the States, as prescribed by law.\n
            \n
          • \u00a0It continues the duties previously held by the Auditor-General of India before the Constitution’s enactment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Article 150: <\/strong>The form in which accounts of the Union and States are kept is prescribed by the President, based on advice from the CAG.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Article 151: <\/strong>The CAG\u2019s audit reports on Union accounts are submitted to the President, who ensures they are laid before Parliament.\n
              \n
            • For state accounts, the reports are submitted to the respective Governor and laid before the state legislature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Article 279: <\/strong>The CAG certifies the “net proceeds” of taxes and duties, and its certificate is final.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Recent Issues and Concerns\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • There is an argument that the executive-controlled appointment<\/strong> process of CAG violates the Constitution.<\/strong>\n
                  \n
                • The executive can exert control over the CAG’s independence, thereby undermining its role as a neutral, objective watchdog.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Recent issues with the CAG’s work were highlighted including delays in audits, a decline in Union government audits, and allegations of corruption in recruitment<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • The challenge has arisen amid recent CAG reports that exposed irregularities in public fund managemen<\/strong>t, such as those related to Delhi’s excise policy and Uttarakhand’s Compensatory Afforestation <\/strong>Fund Management.\n
                    \n
                  • These reports have also led to tensions between the CAG and the executive, particularly regarding the timing and presentation of reports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    Proposed Reforms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                      \n
                    • Proposals to address the tensions between the CAG and the executive include establishing a separate selection committee <\/strong>for the CAG.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Setting time limits for the presentation of reports<\/strong>, and reforming the auditing structure to include a multi-member body.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Additionally, critics have suggested that creating separate auditing bodies for states, as seen in federal countries like Australia and the US, might help improve the system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • There are also suggestions that the President should appoint the CAG in consultation with a non-partisan selection committee, comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                      Conclusion\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                        \n
                      • The CAG remains a crucial institution in India’s democratic framework, but addressing existing issues requires a balanced approach that respects its constitutional mandate while ensuring its independence and effectiveness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                        Source: TH<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                        The Supreme Court is examining a plea challenging the sole prerogative of the Centre, acting through the President, to appoint the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39315"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39316,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39315\/revisions\/39316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}