Casting a doubt over Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report relating Cairn-Vedanta deal of last year, the Supreme Court of India declined to accept the report.
Dismissing the Public Interest Litigation challenging the approval granted by the Government of India for the acquisition of majority stake in Cairn India Limited (CIL) by Vedanta Resources Ltd., the Court said “The CAG’s report is always subject to parliamentary debates and it is possible that Public Accounts Committee (PAC) can accept the ministry’s objection to the CAG report or reject the report of the CAG. The CAG, indisputably is an independent constitutional functionary, however, it is for the Parliament to decide whether after receiving the report i.e. PAC to make its comments on the CAG’s report.”
Interestingly, the Court examined the role of CAG under the Constitutional scheme by observing “We have come across several instances where considerable reliance has been placed on the CAG Report and projecting it as gospel truth.”
Petitioner has placed considerable reliance on the CAG report in his challenge to the deal.
