On Tuesday The
Supreme Court reinstituted CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) Director Alok
Kumar Verma, setting aside the Centre’s decision to divest him of his powers. Though
he has been restrained from taking any major policy decision till the CVC
(Central Vigilance Commission) investigation into corruption charges against
him is over.
The apex court said “Any further decision against Verma, who
was sent on leave following the Centre’s October 23 decision and retires on
January 31, would be taken by the high-powered committee which selects and
appoints the CBI director” as per PTI reports.
The selection committee comprises the prime minister, the
leader of opposition and the chief justice of India.
The top court said
the high powered committee will take its decision on the basis of the findings
of the Central Vigilance Commission inquiry. It said the meeting of the
committee should be convened within a week. The judgment was penned by Chief
Justice Ranjan Gogoi. However, the Chief Justice of India didn’t attend court
and it was pronounced by Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph.
The apex court also set aside the Centre’s decision to
appoint senior IPS officer M Nageswara Rao, who was joint director, as the
agency’s interim chief. With the
verdict, the apex court has set aside the Centre’s October 23 decision
divesting Verma as CBI chief and sending him on leave.
Verma’s two-year tenure as CBI Director ends on January 31.
He has moved the top court challenging the Centre’s decision. Verma sought canceling of three orders of October 23,
2018 one by the CVC and two by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)
as being without jurisdiction and in violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the
Constitution.
Rao, 1986 batch Odisha-cadre IPS officer, was given the
charge of interim chief of the probe agency. The Centre took the decision to send Verma and CBI’s
Special Director Rakesh Asthana on leave after their argument became public.
The top two charged each other of corruption.
The Centre said Verma and Asthana were fighting like
“Kilkenny cats”, exposing the country’s premier investigating agency
to “public ridicule”. Challenging the government’s
decision, Verma’s counsel and senior advocate Fali S Nariman argued that the
CBI director was appointed on February 1, 2017 and “the position of law is
that there will be a fixed tenure of two years and this gentleman cannot be
even transferred”.
Nariman said there was no basis for the CVC to pass an order recommending that Verma be sent on leave.