Appointment of Cag

Appointment of CAG

About the importance of the Comptroller and Auditor General in the parliamentary system of governance, Dr B. R. Ambedkar said in the Constituent Assembly on May 30, 1949: “I am of opinion that this dignitary is probably the most important officer in the Constitution of India. If this functionary is to carry out the duties-and his duties are far more important than the duties even of the judiciary-he should be certainly as independent as the Judiciary.”

The assurance given in the Constituent Assembly was followed in appointment of the three CAGs from the IAAS seniors like V. Narahari Rao (1948-54), A. K. Chanda (1954-60) and A. K. Roy (1960-66) who with their rich experience and expertise, not only succeeded in setting up an effective Public Audit on a sound foundation, but also rendered valuable assistance to make the Parliamentary Committees take firm decisions and adopt suitable procedures to ensure the accountability of the executive.

In the 1950s, the Government of India desired to organise public enterprises as private limited companies in order to preclude the CAG audit. While some leading Members felt that formation of Government Companies under the Indian Companies Act would whittle away parliamentary control, they were hesitant to raise their objections against the powerful Nehru Government. However, CAG Narahari Rao boldly came out to declare that it was ’a fraud on the Constitution’ if the Government Companies were not subject to public audit. Supporting the commendable views of the CAG, the Public Accounts Committee recommended in its Third Report of 1952-53: “The Comptroller and Auditor General should have the unquestioned right to audit the expenditure of these concerns, by whatever name they may be called, because they are financed from the Consolidated Fund of India.”

During the Lok Sabha discussion on December 11, 1953, Finance Minister C.D. Deshmukh agreed for legislation to bring all government companies under the...