New Delhi
1 July 2007
The Principal Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has
asked the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Department of
Personnel and Training, and the Cabinet Secretariat, to make available the records
pertaining to the appointment of Mr Shivshankar Menon as Foreign Secretary.
The Tribunal has directed to issue notice to them and asked them to file their replies
before the next date of hearing. The Tribunal also asked them to appear before it either
in person or through a legal practitioner on July 18. The direction came on the
application filed by Ms Veena Sikri. Mr Shivshankar Menon was appointed Foreign
Secretary superseding Ms Sikri and 15 other diplomats.
Ms Sikri moved the CAT after the UPA Government obtained a stay from the Delhi High
Court, on the decision of the Central Information Commission (CIC) to peruse the files
relating to the appointment of Mr Menon as Foreign Secretary.
Ms Sikri, a 1971 batch officer, moved the CIC under the Right To Information (RTI) Act,
seeking information on the appointment of Mr Menon as Foreign Secretary. Mr Menon is
a 1972 batch IFS officer. She approached the CIC after filing RTI applications with the
Prime Minister's Office, Cabinet Secretariat, Ministry of External Affairs and Department
of Personnel and Training, to seek information on the selection process including the
rules, principles and rationale on the appointment of Mr Menon.
Intriguingly, the UPA Government picked Mr Menon for the post of Foreign Secretary
even before the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his appointment. The
Prime Minister's Office issued a press release on August 31, 2006, in which it said that
Mr Menon would be the next foreign secretary. The Appointments Committee of the
Cabinet approved Mr Menon's appointment only on September 4.
The "deep selection process" was not in vogue until Mr Shyam Saran was appointed
Foreign Secretary in 2004. Mr Saran was appointed Foreign Secretary several months
after Mr RM Abhyankar, who was senior to Mr Saran and was serving as Secretary, had
been posted out as Ambassador to Brussels. In 2003, when Mr Saran was sought to be
appointed as Foreign Secretary to succeed Mr Kanwal Sibal, the decision was changed
because Mr Shashank, who was senior to Mr Saran, was then a serving Secretary and
therefore Mr Shashank was appointed Foreign Secretary. Also, in 2001, when the
government was mulling to appoint Mr Sibal as Foreign Secretary in succession to Mr
Lalit Mansingh, the decision was changed because Mr RS Kalha was senior to Sibal.
Eventually, Ms Chokila Iyer, who was senior to Kalha, was appointed Foreign Secretary.
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