At the same time, it arrested its own deputy superintendent of police Devender Kumar, for allegedly forging a statement to assist Asthana, who had initiated his own corruption complaint against Verma.
It would be difficult to find a saga as sordid as the one that is unfolding in India’s apex investigation body, where the No. 1and No. 2 are locked in a struggle to the end, accusing each other of corruption. Normally, in such circumstances, the easiest thing to do is to ease out No. 2. But that has not happened. Why?
The alleged reason is that Asthana, a Gujarat cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, is considered close to the top BJP leadership. Incidentally, he happened to be the man who supervised the 2002 Godhra investigation. The Narendra Modi government had sought to position Asthana as the head of CBI, once called ‘a caged parrot’ by the Supreme Court. As the country’s premier investigating agency, it has been used as a political instrument by governments down the years. The present administration, too, may not have held itself back from unleashing it on political opponents, perceived or otherwise.
Asthana was appointed additional director, CBI, in December 2016, and promoted to the rank of special director last October. This took place over the objections of CBI director Verma, who had been appointed in his current position in January 2017 and is believed to have informed the selection committee of the serious corruption charges against Asthana.
It would be difficult to find a saga as sordid as the one that is unfolding in India’s apex investigation body, where the No. 1and No. 2 are locked in a struggle to the end, accusing each other of corruption. Normally, in such circumstances, the easiest thing to do is to ease out No. 2. But that has not happened. Why?
The alleged reason is that Asthana, a Gujarat cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, is considered close to the top BJP leadership. Incidentally, he happened to be the man who supervised the 2002 Godhra investigation. The Narendra Modi government had sought to position Asthana as the head of CBI, once called ‘a caged parrot’ by the Supreme Court. As the country’s premier investigating agency, it has been used as a political instrument by governments down the years. The present administration, too, may not have held itself back from unleashing it on political opponents, perceived or otherwise.
Asthana was appointed additional director, CBI, in December 2016, and promoted to the rank of special director last October. This took place over the objections of CBI director Verma, who had been appointed in his current position in January 2017 and is believed to have informed the selection committee of the serious corruption charges against Asthana.
Efforts to reform the CBI have been going on since the famous Vineet Narain judgment of 1997 through which the Supreme Court gave a set of directions to the government to ensure the autonomy of the organisation. By 2013, it was clear that reform efforts had failed. This is when the Supreme Court had made its infamous observation that the CBI “was a caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice”.
The apex court then sought an undertaking from the then-UPA government that it would provide more autonomy to the outfit. But such are the powers and political uses of the organisation that no government has been willing to give it the autonomy it needs to function as a professional investigative agency.
The apex court then sought an undertaking from the then-UPA government that it would provide more autonomy to the outfit. But such are the powers and political uses of the organisation that no government has been willing to give it the autonomy it needs to function as a professional investigative agency.
Read more at:The real problem for the CBI lies in its charter of duties. These are not protected by legislation. Instead, its functions are based merely on a government resolution that draws its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, which makes the CBI the premier investigative arm of the Union government.
Every successive government has found it useful to keep the ‘parrot in the cage’ to make it do its (dirty) work. The present government seems to have been no exception.
Corruption in the CBI has always been spoken of in undertones, for the simple reason that it is the nation’s apex anti-corruption investigation agency. Its action — or inaction — can make or break a major case. Obviously, if there are corrupt officers in its midst, they are in a position to benefit illegally.
So far, the prime minister has not spoken of the shambolic goings-on in an organisation that reports directly to him. Indeed, it’s not clear whether he will do so at all. Modi is walking a tightrope. He has made claims that he runs a corruption-free government.
But if the CBI has filed an FIR charging its No. 2 with alleged corruption, then a proverbial can of worms could open up.
Prakash Singh, former director general of the Border Security Force (BSF) — who has been trying to push the government to reform India’s police forces for the last 20 years — has noted that whenever there are no political overtones to the case, the CBI does a good job. But when politics comes in, things appear to go ‘round and round’.
IIn Singh’s view, besides appointing the head of the CBI through a collegium, as recommended by the Lokpal Act, the government must ensure financial autonomy for the outfit. Essentially, he has rightly suggested that the CBI should be given statutory status through legislation equivalent to that provided to the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) and the Election Commission (EC).
Maybe, this sorry episode will trigger the long-sought-after reforms in the CBI that have been ‘postponed for decades..
Every successive government has found it useful to keep the ‘parrot in the cage’ to make it do its (dirty) work. The present government seems to have been no exception.
Corruption in the CBI has always been spoken of in undertones, for the simple reason that it is the nation’s apex anti-corruption investigation agency. Its action — or inaction — can make or break a major case. Obviously, if there are corrupt officers in its midst, they are in a position to benefit illegally.
So far, the prime minister has not spoken of the shambolic goings-on in an organisation that reports directly to him. Indeed, it’s not clear whether he will do so at all. Modi is walking a tightrope. He has made claims that he runs a corruption-free government.
But if the CBI has filed an FIR charging its No. 2 with alleged corruption, then a proverbial can of worms could open up.
Prakash Singh, former director general of the Border Security Force (BSF) — who has been trying to push the government to reform India’s police forces for the last 20 years — has noted that whenever there are no political overtones to the case, the CBI does a good job. But when politics comes in, things appear to go ‘round and round’.
IIn Singh’s view, besides appointing the head of the CBI through a collegium, as recommended by the Lokpal Act, the government must ensure financial autonomy for the outfit. Essentially, he has rightly suggested that the CBI should be given statutory status through legislation equivalent to that provided to the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) and the Election Commission (EC).
Maybe, this sorry episode will trigger the long-sought-after reforms in the CBI that have been ‘postponed for decades..
The Economic Times October 24, 2018
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