Government nominates Justice Sikri to Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal

New Delhi: Supreme Court judge A.K. Sikri, who voted with the government in the three-member committee to remove CBI Director Alok Verma, is understood to have been nominated to the post of President/Member of the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT).

Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said the decision regarding Sikri's nomination was made last month in view of his retirement on March 6, 2019, from the Supreme Court.

The CSAT was established to meet the requirements of the Agreed Memorandum on the Commonwealth Secretariat (1964) which was revised by governments in 2005.

In fulfilment of its obligations under the Agreed Memorandum, the UK government passed the Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966 which, among other things, gives the Commonwealth Secretariat legal personality and accords it certain immunities and privileges.

The CSAT has a full complement of eight members comprising the President and seven others. The members are selected by Commonwealth governments on a regionally representative basis from among persons of high moral character who must hold or have held high judicial office in a Commonwealth country.

The members are appointed on a four-year term which may be renewed only once.

Born on March 7, 1954, Sikri was sworn in as a Supreme Court judge on April 12, 2013. He earlier served as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Sikri was part of the Selection Committee including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge that on Thursday decided 2:1 to remove CBI chief Verma from the post.

Kharge gave a dissent note and opposed Verma's ouster.