The Centre had on Friday opposed in the Supreme Court the CBI’s plea for more powers for its director and for raising the length of his tenure from two to three years. In a 22-page affidavit, the government also rejected the CBI’s opposition to an accountability commission for the agency, and said it was also against vesting complete disciplinary control of “Group A” officers with the CBI director. “An all-powerful CBI director without adequate checks and balances would not be consonant with settled constitutional principles and would always carry the risk of potential misuse, and may not be conducive to fearless and independent functioning of the organisation at all levels. Therefore, averments of the CBI are not agreed with”, the government’s affidavit said.
Some senior CBI officers are not happy with the move to set up a panel of retired judges to oversee investigations by the agency to insulate it from political interference. “As of now the agency submits its investigation report directly in the court under Section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The proposal to set up a panel of retired judges to oversee CBI investigations is disappointing for the officers. A majority of the officers are against the proposal,” said a senior CBI official. At present, the Central Vigilance Commissioner is the superintending agency of the CBI. “The creation of an accountability commission of retired judges will only create confusion. The lawmakers should not create new areas of confusion, instead of resolving the current situation,” said another senior official who didn’t want to be identified.
In its affidavit, the CBI had also said its director should be vested with ex-officio powers of a secretary to the Government of India, reporting directly to the minister, without having to go through the department of personnel and training.
“Since it is a premier investigating agency, therefore the head of the agency should not depend on a particular ministry or department for discharge of financial and certain administrative requirements,” the official added.