Court gives two weeks to complete CBI probe
Interim chief cannot take any major decisions, judges rule
India’s top court yesterday ordered an autonomous federal anti-corruption commission to complete in two weeks a probe of two top officials of the country’s investigative agency who have been sent on leave.
The Supreme Court took up a petition by Alok Verma, the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, who challenged the government for divesting him of powers amid an agency inquiry of his deputy, Rakesh Asthana.
The court said Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) inquiry against Verma would be time-bound and monitored by former SC judge A.K. Patnaik.
“M. Nageshwar Rao, who was asked to stand in as interim CBI chief, cannot take any major decisions. All decisions taken by him since he took charge around 2am on Tuesday — which includes the mass transfer of officers investigating Mr Asthana — have to be submitted in court in a sealed envelope,” the court said. The court posted the next date of hearing on November 12.
India’s main opposition staged nationwide protests yesterday, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of removing the head of the premier investigation agency in order to scuttle a probe into a controversial jet deal.
Congress and other opposition parties have accused Modi of removing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief Alok Verma this week because he wanted to investigate a 2016 deal to buy 36 Rafale jets from France.
Rahul Gandhi, the scion of India’s Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and president of the Congress party, was briefly taken to a Delhi police station after leading a march by hundreds of supporters to the CBI headquarters.
Demonstrations were also held in other cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chandigarh, where police fired water cannons to break up a march.
The government suspended Verma and his second-incommand Rakesh Asthana on Wednesday, pending an inquiry. The pair have accused each other of taking bribes.
Congress says Verma was asked to go only because he wanted to investigate the Rafale jet deal — which critics say unfairly profited Indian billionaire Anil Ambani.
“The prime minister acted against the CBI director as a result of panic and as a result of fear because he has helped Mr Ambani,” Gandhi said as he left the police station.
Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh accused Congress of picking up on “non-issues”. The government has insisted it replaced the CBI chiefs to maintain the “institutional integrity” of the agency which handles high-profile cases.
Verma petition
The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition yesterday from Verma against his ouster, ordered that the investigation into his case be completed within two weeks. It also said interim CBI chief M. Nageswara Rao would be restricted from taking any major policy decisions.
When the Congress party last held power in 2013, a Supreme Court judge described the CBI as a “caged parrot” because its inquiries are constrained by the ruling party of the day.