From 'caged parrot' to flying condor

CBI, shamed by the supreme court, is giving up meekly repeating what its political masters say. It is now trying to be a bird of prey, swooping down on officials and politicians playing dirty

brajesh

Brajesh Kumar | June 8, 2013



The ‘caged parrot’ has suddenly acquired the claws of a crouching tiger, the central bureau of investigation, that is. And all it took for the investigating agency to discover it had a spine was harsh words from the supreme court.

The swift action on railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and his nephew in the cash for post scandal is a case in point.

In continuing with its newly discovered enthusiasm to resurrect its image, it has asked the supreme court to direct the government not to interfere in its attempt to question senior officers in corruption cases.

According to a report in The Hindu on Friday, CBI has sought a specific remedy from the court, suggesting that ministers who deny the agency permission to question senior government officials be obliged to provide reasons for doing so. Under current rules, a minister can tell the CBI to back off without offering any explanation.  

The affidavit was made in connection with the ongoing investigation into the allocation of coal blocks.

The Hindu report says the CBI, in its affidavit, has submitted that the present system of seeking approval to question government officials was highly discriminatory. For questioning officers of the level of joint secretary and above, it is mandatory to seek the approval of line ministers, which is often refused without providing any reason.

The trigger for the affidavit seems to be its inability to question former coal secretary, HC Gupta, currently a member of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) due to the refusal of the ministry of corporate affairs-- the nodal ministry for CCI—to proceed.

Be that as it may, if the court does accept CBI’s recommendations, it will go a long way in deterring senior bureaucrats who are vulnerable to either strong arm tactic from ministers or pecuniary considerations.
 

Comments

 

Other News

How social media is reshaping elections

Since Brazil’s return to direct presidential elections in 1985, no candidate who finished second in the first round of polling had ever won the presidency. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, now 81, has just done it. What explains the comeback, and what changed in Brazilian politics to make it possi

Cabinet approves Dearness Allowance, Dearness Relief

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.07.2026 representing an increase of 3% over the existing rates of 6

Cyclone Arnab strikes Andhra as warming oceans amplify storm risks

Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts in the early hours of Wednesday as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125–135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph. Its rapid intensification has raised concerns about how warmer oceans, global warmin

Counting matters but which ones?

The first instinct of public policy is to count. Its harder task is to count what counts. We have become remarkably good at measuring the reach of the welfare state vis-à-vis beneficiaries covered, rupees transferred, houses built, connections installed and services delivered. But some of the most

Inching closer to a trade deal with America

The cooperation between India and the United States goes back quite a time. We need to relegate that era to the backburner when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited US in the times of president Dwight Eisenhower and called the American let-off of 10 million dollars in defence aid to Pakistan as a “gun w

Manch vs Musk: Forty people and a foreign billionaire

About forty people walked the roundabout on Teen Murti Marg to the gate of Chanakyapuri police station, a distance you could cover in under a minute, on Friday to protest against Elon Musk’s Starlink. The walk was called by the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch. Nobody joined them on the way, and nobody seeme

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter