CBI a caged parrot speaking in its masters' voice, observes SC

Asks director to ensure no person outside the team probing coal scam has access to reports

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director would have to ensure that no person outside the team investigating the coal block allocation scam had access to the progress report, the Supreme Court ordered today.

The court also said in its order, passed after three hours of heated exchanges, that Deputy Inspector General Ravi Kant Mishra, who had been sent on deputation to the Intelligence Bureau halfway, should be repatriated to CBI and made part of the team to continue the investigation. A progress report would have to be filed by July 8 in the court, which will hear the case again on July 10.

The Bench headed by R M Lodha focused on ensuring the independence and integrity of CBI. The judges said if the government wanted to show its bonafides in this matter, it should pass a law making CBI independent. "The effort must start now and not wait for Parliament to pass a law; there are other methods to bring in a law. If it is done, that would be golden day," the judges said.

During the hearing of the petition seeking the cancellation of coal block allocations and appointment of a special investigating team, the judges asked CBI not to be a "caged parrot" or "his master's voice". The coal scam affair had unravelled a sordid saga, showing that CBI had many masters and it was acting as their servant, the judges observed.

The court reminded Attorney-General G E Vahanvati that 15 years had gone by since the government had been asked to bring in a law to free CBI from the political executive. Nothing had been done so far, resulting in more scams. The attorney general agreed to take instructions from the "highest level" of the government about this lapse.

He, however, submitted that the investigating agency should not be allowed to run like an "unbridled horse". There should be control on the agency, too; the judges agreed to this. The attorney-general regretted he was "defamed and attacked" from various fronts for his role in the changes made in the draft report. He did not call anyone to his house to change the reports, he insisted.

The judges reiterated that the joint secretaries had no business to visit the CBI office on March 6 to see the draft report and then return the next day to suggest changes. The allegations were against the ministers concerned and CBI should not have shown the report to them. "It affects the credibility of the institution," the judges remarked.

Pointing out that CBI Director Ranjit Sinha had admitted in his affidavit that "significant changes" had been made in the report, the judges sarcastically asked the government if it was a "collaborative effort". Referring to the excuse of the CBI counsel U U Lalit that the joint secretaries in the Prime Minister's Office and the coal ministry were "interacting" with the investigating agency and supplying information, the judges said the persons accused in the scam should be "interrogated", rather than allowed to participate in the "interaction".

The court pointed out that some of the paragraphs that were admittedly changed after the joint secretaries' visit and the law minister's vetting were "the heart of the report" and were crucial to the case, in which 11 FIRs had been filed.

The judges asked the CBI counsel what business the officials had with CBI. "Can anyone visit your office and make suggestions in your reports? Do you welcome all and sundry? This is a serious matter," they said.
TOUGH TALK
SC's observations on sharing of CBI's draft status report on coal scam probe with the law minister, besides other officials, and the reactions those evoked in the political circles

CBI:
CBI will follow directions of the court in letter and spirit

Congress:
It will be inappropriate to make any viewpoint until one reads the entire report

BJP:
ASG has resigned. A-G and law minister should also resign

AAP:
This underlines the need for an independent Lok Pal and placing of CBI under it