Is Modi Govt Destroying the Integrity of CBI?

The Central government on Sunday promoted Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). But his appointment has not gone down well with senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan who says he will challenge the appointment made by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) in court.

After the news was announced, Bhushan took to Twitter to question the Modi government’s move of promoting Asthana, who is presently serving the CBI as an additional director. He alleged that the 1984-batch IPS officer’s name figures in the diary of Sterling Biotech, on which the central investigation agency itself has registered a FIR.

“See PM’s desperation to promote this tainted officer who was earlier appt acting Dir CBI. Govt shows meeting of ACC on Sunday when PM in Guj!(sic),” the anti-corruption activist tweeted.

The CBI had registered a FIR on August 30 against three senior officials of the Income Tax department for allegedly accepting bribes from Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech and Sandesara Group of Companies.

The agency had seized a diary in 2011 in the company premises that had details of monthly payout to the accused officials, including income tax officials, policemen and politicians in Gujarat. According to Bhushan, Asthana’s name is there on the list.

“The diary of Sterling Biotech Rakesh mentions Asthana’s and the CBI itself has registered a FIR against the company. In my view, this is totally illegal and we will certainly challenge it,” the Swaraj India leader told NewsClick.

“The appointment of a tainted officer shows that the government is hell-bent on destroying independence and integrity of the CBI,” he added.

Bhushan has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the apex court on behalf of NGO Common Cause, seeking to quash Asthana’s appointment in accordance with the Vineet Narain case.

It has been alleged in the petition that the government wanted to appoint its own choice as interim CBI director “even if it meant bypassing the statutory law, the norms of propriety and the directions contained in the Vineet Narain's judgement”.

“The judgment in Vineet Narain’s case had clearly held that the tenure of the CBI director would be two years. This was to ensure that there is no ad-hocism in the appointment and functioning of the CBI director,” the petition said.

Bhushan is not alone in opposing Asthana’s promotion. On Saturday, the Selection Committee of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) – which decides promotions and transfers of officers of the levels of Superintendent of Police and above in the CBI – too shot down the proposal for the promotion of the CBI’s additional director for the post of special director.

CVC chief KV Chowdary said that there are “issues regarding the integrity clause” because his name figures in the “Dairy 2011”.

When Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday was asked about Asthana’s promotion, he evasively answered the questions.

“Please only ask questions related to it (on Jammu and Kashmir matter),” Singh said. He was addressing a press conference to announce a peace initiative on Kashmir.

Asthana was a part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the 2002 Godhra train burning incident. He also investigated into the much-talked-about fodder scam in which former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav was involved.

At present, the officer is investigating Yadav and his family’s alleged involvement in a 2006 Indian Railways hotel scam. He is also probing AgustaWestland scam and also a few corruption cases in the Delhi government.