Intervened to save CBI from becoming object of mockery: Govt : The Tribune India

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Intervened to save CBI from becoming object of mockery: Govt

NEW DELHI: In a first official reaction on the ongoing feud between two top functionaries of India''s premier investigative agency CBI, the government on Wednesday said it stepped in to ensure the institutional integrity of the organisation and save it from becoming an object of mockery.

Intervened to save CBI from becoming object of mockery: Govt

Union Ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad addressing the media in New Delhi on Wednesday. — Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal



Mukesh Ranjan
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 24

In a first official reaction on the ongoing feud between two top functionaries of India's premier investigative agency CBI, the government on Wednesday said it stepped in to ensure the institutional integrity of the organisation and save it from becoming an object of mockery.

Briefing the media here after the meeting of the Union Cabinet, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while defending the government decision to ask the two feuding officers - CBI Director Alok Verma and his deputy in the agency Rakesh Asthana -- to proceed on leave, said it was done on the recommendations of the Chief Vigilance Commission (CVC), which has the power of superintendence under Section 4(2) of the Act in relation to the investigation.


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"CBI is a premier investigation agency, which needs to maintain its institutional integrity and thus it is the pre-condition that fairness and honesty are maintained. We could not have afforded a situation where those who are accused and have gone outside India could raise fingers at the institutional integrity of the CBI," Jaitley said.

Noting that both the CBI director and his deputy in the agency have levelled allegations against each other, the Minister said the government on the recommendation of the CVC has decided to constitute an SIT to investigate into the matter. "When, how and who will form the SIT will be decided by the CVC and since neither of them can investigate charges against each other, both of them have been asked to sit out as an interim measure. They have also been asked to offer themselves in the investigation," Jaitley said, adding that it was "an extraordinary situation and the SIT will not function under either of the two".

Rebutting the opposition charges of government indulging in the investigative affairs of the agency, which was supposed to investigate allegations in relation to BJP president Amit Shah, Jaitley said, "It is utter rubbish and the allegations cast serious doubts that did opposition has access to what was going on in the minds of officers in the CBI?"

Insisting that the government will not pre-judge anything in the ongoing affairs, the Finance Minister said, "We are committed to ensure institutional integrity so that agency does not become an object of mockery."

Meanwhile, as the government took the decision to ask the two officers to proceed on leave based on the communication it received from the CVC, the anti-corruption watchdog in its note to the government last night observed that the CBI director has been non-cooperative with the Commission and has created wilful obstructions in the functioning of the Commission which is a Constitutional body.

Later in the day, in a separate statement the government said, "The CVC, on receipt of a complaint on August 24, 2018 containing various allegations against the senior functionaries of the CBI has served three separate notices (under Section 11 of CVC Act, 2003) on September 11 upon the Director, CBI, to produce files and documents before the Commission on September 14."

Quoting CVC, it further said various opportunities have been given to produce such records and after several adjournments, though CBI assured the Commission on September 24 to furnish the records within three weeks. "Despite repeated assurances and reminders, the Director, CBI, failed to furnish the records/files before the Commission. The CVC has observed that Director, CBI, has not been cooperating in making available records/files sought by the Commission relating to serious allegations," it said.

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