Bhave, Abraham are officers of terrific integrity, says Montek

Coming in defence of former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief C B Bhave and its former member K M Abraham, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Saturday said they are officers of "terrific integrity" and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has not charged them with anything.

"Bhave and Abraham (have good) reputation. They are officers of terrific integrity. At the same time, remember they (CBI) are not charging them with anything. They are just enquiring," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

The CBI had instituted a preliminary enquiry against Bhave, the then SEBI member Abraham, Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies India Limited (FTIL) and MCX and others in a case related to grant of licence to MCX Stock Exchange in 2008.

The PE was registered against Abraham and Bhave last week on issues of alleged irregularities in granting sanction to the MCX-SX by the SEBI in 2008 and renewing the recognition in 2009 and 2010.

Asked whether the onus is on Bhave and other accused to prove that they are not guilty, Ahluwalia replied, "No. That is not true. It is only an enquiry. Onus is on the enquiring agency (CBI) to decide. Do they have a case? They are not being charged of anything yet." India needs a system where enquiries are completed quickly, he said, adding people facing such enquiries are unhappy because it takes too long.