CBI vs CBI: Court accepts agency’s Asthana clean chit

In a decision that would offer him considerable relief, a Delhi court on Saturday accepted the clean chit handed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to its former special director Rakesh Asthana in an alleged case of bribery registered against him in October 2018 at the peak of his feud with his boss and CBI director Alok Verma.

The special CBI court also agreed with the agency’s decision to absolve deputy superintendent of police Devender Kumar, and summoned Dubaibased brothers Manoj and Somesh Prasad as accused in the case.

Special CBI judge Sanjeev Aggarwal said in his order that “there wasn’t sufficient material against the public servants – Asthana and Kumar.”

Saturday’s court’s order accepting the clean chit means there is no investigation is pending against Asthana or Kumar any more.

“The truth ultimately prevails,” Asthana told HT, hours after his exoneration of all the charges in the case.

The development is significant because Asthana, a 1984batch Gujarat-cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, would now be eligible for inclusion in the panel of candidates for the next CBI chief when the government starts looking for a replacement for incumbent RK

Shukla in January next year.

Shukla will retire in January 2021-end. Asthana is currently the director general of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).