The government on Thursday claimed before the supreme court (SC) that the high-powered committee which selected the controversial chief vigilance commissioner (CVC) PJ Thomas, was unaware of his being chargesheeted in the palmolein oil export case and of the subsequent Kerala government nod for his prosecution.

The committee comprising prime minister Manmohan Singh , home minister P Chidambaram and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Shushma Swaraj had, by a majority, disregarded Swaraj’s vociferous objections in the media against selecting Thomas.

During and ongoing hearing today over a PIL alleging Thomas’s appointment as malafide, when the SC bench headed by chief justice S H Kapadia asked the attorney general (AG) Goolam E Vahanvati if the details relating to the chargesheet and sanction was there before the committee prior to his appointment, he replied , "It was not before the committee. The material pertaining to the sanction for prosecution under section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code was not before the committee. The bio-data did not reflect this aspect before the committee,"

AG’s response was as much a shift in the government’s stance as an instance of dumping CVC Thomas, as till now, during the earlier hearings, the centre had been backing his selection.

The bench, also comprising justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swantanter Kumar said before going into the merits of allegations of illegality in his appointment as made in the PIL, it wanted to know if correct procedure was followed in the selection of CVC. It sought replies on the number of people considered for selection as CVC , the criteria on which they were shortlisted , the grounds on which the other officers were eliminated and why Thomas alone was preferred for selection as CVC.

The petition contends that the court declare Thomas' appointment as illegal as there was a violation of Section 4 of the CVC Act as both the PM and the home minister had insisted  upon his appointment even when the third member of the selection committee Swaraj had raised serious objections. This , the PIL argues makes it evident the government had pre dicded to appoint him.Further objections raised in the PIL is that Thomas could not be appointed as CVC as there arises a "conflict of interest", for, till recently he was serving as the secretary in the telecom ministry amidst allegations of his involvement in the 2G spectrum scam.

Meanwhile Shusma Swaraj has slammed the government’s claim that the charges against CVC P J Thomas were not brought before the high-powered selection committee and told reporters she would file a detailed affidavit in the SC over the issue.She said she had personally raised the issue before the committee.