President appoints Sanjay Kothari as Central Vigilance Commissioner

President Ram Nath Kovind administering oath to Sanjay Kothari at Rashtrapati Bhavan. (Photo: PIB)


Retired IAS officer Sanjay Kothari was sworn in as Central Vigilance Commissioner on Saturday at Rashtrapati Bhavan by President Ram Nath Kovind.

Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) is the head of the nation’s anti-corruption watchdog.

“At a ceremony held today at 1030 hrs at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Shri Sanjay Kothari was sworn in as the Central Vigilance Commissioner. He made and subscribed the oath of his office before the President,” an official communiqué said.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan has shared a picture of the oath-taking ceremony of Sanjay Kothari in which the President and Kothari were seen wearing masks due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Kothari is a 1978 batch IAS officer who was appointed as CVC two months ago, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi selected him for the post through a High Powered Committee headed by him.

Kothari’s appointment was opposed by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on the ground of ‘conflict of interest’ as Kothari at that time was serving as the secretary to the President – a post which is also authorised for the appointment process for CVC.

On April 20, retired Assam-Meghalaya IAS officer KD Tripathi was appointed for Sanjay Kothari’s replacement as secretary to the  President.