Imran Khan

There was no official response from the Indian government at the time of going to press.

Khan, however, said the gesture for peace cannot be onesided.

“We are willing to wait for (general) elections to get over in India for a gesture from New Delhi,” Khan said, referring to the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for next year.

On the issue of Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamat-ud Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, who is carries a $10 million US bounty, whose punishment India is seeking, Khan said, “there are UN sanctions against Hafiz Saeed. There is already a clampdown on him.”

The JuD was declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014. The group is a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit.

Saeed is the co-founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was responsible for the attacks in which 166 people were killed in November 2008. He was put under house arrest after the 26/11 attack, but was freed by a court in 2009.

On the other accused in the 26/11 case, Khan said their case is sub-judice.

The 26/11 attack case has entered into the 10th year, but none of the seven suspects who are in Pakistan has been punished yet, indicating that the case has never been in the country’s priority list, and India has spared no occasion to highlight this at international forums. Marathas socially and educationally backward.

The commission has also recommended that the state government must take appropriate decision for providing reservation benefits to the Marathas under constitutional provisions to address the emerging scenario.

The community has been demanding reservation for decades and will now get reservation facilities as SEBC community. The state government was under tremendous pressure over providing reservation to Marathas as the community outfits had started state-wide agitations for past two years. appearing for leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress), referred to the CVC order divesting Verma of his power and sending him on leave.

Sibal said the CVC and the government cannot override DSPE provisions that make it mandatory to consult panel before “transfer” of CBI chief mid-tenure.

“The order to seal Verma’s office passed without powers under the CVC Act”, Sibal said, adding that the CVC and the government cannot override the power provided under the law.

When the court broached the subject, Sibal said that even if a CBI director is caught redhanded, the government has no choice but go the selection panel.

“Remedy of acting against the CBI director lie with the selection committee and I am not saying that no action can be taken against the CBI director,” Sibal said.

“Power to appoint will also have power to suspend or dismiss. This is why whatever had to be done against Verma, it had to go to the Selection Committee. This may tomorrow happen to CAG, CVC since similar provisions are for them,” Sibal said.

The senior advocate said: “What will happen to the independence of CBI if government is allowed to remove CBI director like this? Today it is the CBI director, tomorrow the government can remove the Central Vigilance Commissioner.”

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for NGO Common Cause which has come in support of Verma, said that even if a person is facing the corruption charges the issues like transfer of the CBI director have to go before the selection panel comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and the CJI.

The process under Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act has been bypassed by divesting Alok Verma of charges, Dave said.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, representing Manish Kumar Sinha, CBI DIG, who was also transferred from the headquarter to Nagpur, said the petition against transfer be kept pending till decision on the CBI director’s plea.

Sinha was also part of the CBI team which was investigating the alleged corruption case against Asthana and others pertaining to meat exporter Moin Qureshi.

Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who appeared for Deputy SP A K Bassi, who was transferred to Port Bair, also advanced his submissions and said that “even if the court were to say there is a lacuna in the DSPE Act, it is for the Supreme Court to fill up that lacuna. Government or CVC can’t fill up this lacuna”.

At the outset, Nariman told the bench, which on November 20 had expressed deep anguish over the purported leak of CBI Director’s response to the CVC’s findings against him, that the court cannot prohibit the publication and referred to the apex court 2012 judgement in a case on the issue.

The bench was also irked over the publication of allegations levelled by agency’s DIG Manish Kumar Sinha in his separate plea.