Rao’s posting as interim CBI chief challenged in SC

Govt bypassed the legal procedure to appoint the interim CBI director, the petition filed by an NGO said

THE PIL SAYS THE SC HAD ALREADY SET ASIDE RAO’S APPOINTMENT IN ITS VERDICT IN THE ALOK VERMA CASE

NEW DELHI: Common Cause, an NGO, on Monday filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) additional director Nageswara Rao as the interim chief of the agency.

The petition, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, says appointment of Rao is mala fide, arbitrary and illegal as the selection committee and appointment process, as established by the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPE Act), have been bypassed by the government. The DSPE Act governs the appointment procedure of the CBI director.

The petition also asserts that government has relied on an earlier order of October 23, 2018 in appointing Rao as the interim director even though the same has been quashed by the Supreme Court in its judgment of January 8 in the Alok Verma case.

On October 23, 2018, two separate orders were issued by the Central Vigilance Commission and the Government of India, divesting the then CBI director Alok Verma of his powers and another appointing Nageswara Rao as interim director.

Besides quashing the CVC order divesting Verma of his powers as CBI chief, the court also set aside the government order appointing Rao as interim director as the appointment was made in violation of the procedure laid down in the DSPE Act.

The petition also seeks that the government should be directed to follow a transparent process in the appointment of the CBI director such as disclosure on government website of the procedure and criteria for shortlisting candidates.

The petition alleges that government has also in the past attempted to stifle the independence of the probe agency.

The NGO had filed a petition in the SC questioning the removal of Alok Verma as CBI director and replacing him with an interim.