Revision as of 00:48, 21 January 2017

CBI investigations: who can order?

HC can order CBI probe

From the archives of The Times of India 2010

HC can order CBI probe: SC

Swati Deshpande | TNN

Mumbai: A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, on Wednesday adjudged that the country’s high courts can order a CBI probe into a case without the assent of a state government, while also cautioning that such powers should be used sparingly, and only in matters of national or international importance.

The SC was hearing the West Bengal government’s petition challenging the Calcutta high court order of a CBI probe into the Midnapore firing in which 14 Trinamool Congres workers were killed. The WB government argued that law and order was a state subject and that a CBI probe without the state’s nod would be a ‘‘destruction of the federal character of the Constitution’’. West Bengal was the main petitioner along with some southern states.

But, taking a stand based on the ‘‘higher principle of constitutional law’’, attorney general Goolam Vahanvati argued that the powers of the high courts and the Supreme Court under Articles 226 and 32 were coupled with a strong obligation to prevent injustice in sensitive cases and to protect the fundamental rights of citizens. The SC bench agreed with him, and dismissed the petition. Until now, the CBI conducted probe in any state only with prior consent of the concerned government under the provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.

The five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices R V Raveendran, D K Jain, P Sathasivam and J M Panchal agreed unanimously with Vahanvati but said the power must be exercised sparingly in ‘‘exceptional and extraordinary circumstances.’’ Otherwise, the CBI will be flooded with such directions in routine cases, the bench said.

CBI Chiefs

2017-2019: Mr. Alok Verma

Appointment of the CBI Chief, Jan 20 2017: The Times of India

Govt appoints Delhi top cop as new CBI chief

Alok Verma Gets PM & CJI's Nod, Kharge Dissents

The government has approved the appointment of Delhi Police commissioner Alok Verma as the new CBI chief in keeping with the recommendation of the selection committee.

The proceedings of the three-member collegium comprising PM Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India J S Khehar and leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, proposed the appointment by a majority decision.

Kharge gave a dissenting note, stating that the selection should be on the basis of both seniority and merit. It is understood that he had pitched for the candidature of R K Dutta, currently special secretary in the home ministry . Kharge reportedly gave his dissent note on selecting Verma citing that he had no experience of having served in CBI and he also had very little vigilance experience.

The PM and the CJI, however, felt that Verma was well suited for the job and his seniority should be taken into account.Verma will assume charge at a time when the agency is being accused by political parties of motivated probes in the context of cases against Trinamool and AAP leaders.

The decision comes ahead of the hearing in Supreme Court on Friday on a plea filed by an NGO challenging the appointment of Rakesh Asthana as acting director of the CBI after the retirement of Anil Sinha.

Official sources said Verma, a1979 batch IPS officer from the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories cadre, has been appointed CBI director for a period of two years by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet from the date he assumes office. Verma, 59, was due to retire from service in July and will now have a fixed tenure of two years. He had worked in various positions in Delhi Police, Andaman-Nicobar Islands, Puducherry , Mizoram and the Intelligence Bureau. Verma, who took charge as Delhi police chief in February last year, is likely to join in a couple of days. The CBI director's post has been lying vacant since Anil Sinha retired in the first week of December. Soon after, Asthana, a 1984 batch IPS officer from Gujarat cadre, was named interim director.

He took charge of Delhi Police from B S Bassi after relinquishing charge as director general of Tihar Jail. Verma, who will be the 27th director of CBI, has not worked in the agency before. Verma takes over at a time when the CBI is probing several crucial cases including the Rs 3,767 crore VVIP chopper scam, in which former IAF chief S P Tyagi was arrested last month. Several defence scandals, the Embraer deal, coal and 2G scams, chit fund cases, Vyapam scam, NRHM scam and non-performing assets of public sector banks are other cases being probed by the agency .

While deciding Verma's name, the collegium had also discussed the names of three other strong contenders ­ R K Dutta, Maharashtra DGP Satish Mathur and ITBP director general Krishna Chaudhary .

Verma's appointment will also leave Delhi police headless and the government will have to soon choose the next commissioner. Two senior IPS officers ­ Dharmendra Kumar and Deepak Misra -are in line for the post.

International ambit

2016

CBI director Anil Sinha said in 2016 that 392 of its criminal investigations, which have international angles to them, are pending in 66 countries.

The central anti-corruption agency has many investigations where it needs information from several countries including 2G scam, AgustaWestland scam, the defence scandal related to Embraer and India deal. CBI is India’s nodal agency for the transnational organised crime, Interpol, anti-corruption and bank frauds. (The Times of India)

Success rate

70% conviction of tainted officials: 2006-16

Himanshi Dhawan, In 70% of cases, CBI secures conviction of tainted officials Sep 18 2016 : The Times of India

CBI’s conviction rate 2006-16

4,054 Cases In Which Govt Staff Found Guilty In Last Decade

Nearly seven out of every 10 corruption-related cases investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) ended in conviction of government officials in the last decade, a record that justifies the dread that the agency strikes among unscrupulous officials.

Since 2006, CBI probed over 7,000 cases, of which trial has been completed in 6,533. About 4,054 cases (68%) ended in conviction of the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, while 2,095 (32%) ended in acquittal.

The relatively high conviction rate counters the popular belief that trials in India are often delayed and officials, along with the influential, usually avoid jail time.

The analysis by public information website Factly .com is based on data shared by the government in Lok Sabha. “Given Indian conditions, 68% conviction is fairly decent. The major flaw is in the judicial system which is full of delays, which in turn allows influencing witnesses, said Shailesh Gandhi, former information commissioner.

Of the 7,000 corruption-related cases probed and disposed of between 2006 and June 2016, some 3,615 ended in prosecution, 2,178 ended in prosecution as well as regular de partmental action (RDA) while 636 cases were subject to only RDA. Another 671 cases were closed without action.

While CBI investigates select cases, national data up to 2015 showed that 13,585 corruption cases were being investigated, mostly relating to bribery and criminal misconduct. Some 29,206 corruption cases were pending trial while the accused were acquitted or discharged in 1,549 cases in 2015.

CBI completed investigations in the highest number of cases in 2008 followed by 2007. The least number of cases were investigated and disposed of in 2010, the year when the 2G and Commonwealth Games scams held national attention.

On an average, 9.3% of the cases ended in closure without any action.

In cases where trial has been completed, acquittal rate was highest in 2007 at over 50%. Most number of cases were disposed of in 2013 (921), followed by 865 in 2012. The least number of cases were disposed of in 2008 (369).

Data from the National Crime Records Bureau show an increase of 5% in corruption cases in 2015 (5,867) compared with 2014 (5,577).

Factly .com's Rakesh Dubbudu noted that getting sanction for prosecution of a government official continued to be an issue.