Probing questions: Why is CBI in the news and who selects its top brass

How the Central Bureau of Investigation, the premier investigating agency of India, operates, and why it finds itself in the thick of a controversy

Why is the CBI in the news?

The battle is between current CBI chief Alok Verma and his number two and special director Rakesh Asthana.

Verma is a 1979 batch IPS AGMUT cadre officer, while Asthana is a 1984 batch Gujarat cadre officer. Asthana was appointed to the CBI as special director in October 2017. In August 2017, an FIR was lodged in the Rs 38 million Sterling Biotech bribery case. Asthana’s name cropped up during the investigation. CBI chief Verma pointed at the case to oppose Asthana’s appointment as special director, but to no avail.

Asthana has investigated the Godhra train burning case of 2002, the fodder scam of Bihar, Ahmedabad bomb blasts of 2008, the case related to Asaram and his son Narayan Sai and recently AgustaWestland, the coal scam and also cases related to businessman Vijay Mallya.

For his part, Verma was appointed the CBI chief in January 2017 days before he was set to retire. According to sources, National Security Adviser A K Doval was his principal backer.

In July 2018, the infighting became public. Verma resented Asthana representing himself as the de facto CBI chief and wrote to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). In August, Asthana wrote to the cabinet secretary to allege corruption by Verma. Asthana heads the SIT probing alleged tax evader Moin Qureshi case. 

However, an investigation found that Asthana and his team purportedly faked the eyewitness account of Hyderabad businessman Sathish Sana in which Verma was sought to be implicated.

Sana was interrogated and his associate Mohan Prasad arrested, which led to the CBI registering an FIR against Asthana. A deputy SP in his team was arrested on Monday and CBI raided offices in its own headquarters. Asthana has moved the Delhi High Court.

What sorts of cases come under its purview?

The Centre set up the Central Bureau of Investigation by a resolution dated April 1, 1963.

Initially, the CBI had two investigation wings — the general offences wing dealt with cases of bribery and corruption involving public servants, and the economic offences wing dealt with cases of violation of fiscal laws.

A food offences wing was set up in September 1964 to collect intelligence on hoarding, black marketing, smuggling and profiteering in foodgrains. It was merged with the economic offences wing in 1968.

Early 1980s saw courts referring cases to CBI. In the 1980s and 1990s, CBI constituted more specialised divisions. For example, a special investigation team (SIT) was constituted in 1991 to investigate the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi; another to investigate the razing of the Babri Majid in Ayodhya. A Bank Frauds and Securities Cell was set up in 1992 to investigate cases in the aftermath of the Harshad Mehta scam.

Some of CBI’s responsibilities were hived off to the National Crime Records Bureau and the Bureau of Police Research and Development. A surfeit of economic frauds led to strengthening of the economic offences wing in 1994.

Currently, offences under 69 existing central and 18 state Acts, 231 offences under the IPC have been notified by the Centre to the CBI.

Under whose administrative control does the CBI come?

The Director, CBI, as Inspector General of Police under the DSPE Act, is responsible for the administration of the organisation. With the enactment of the CVC Act, 2003, CVC oversees investigation of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, while the rest by the Central government.

The CBI Director has a fixed two-year tenure in accordance with the CVC Act, 2003. The CVC Act also provided a mechanism for the selection of CBI Director and other officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP) and above in the CBI. However, the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013, now governs the appointment of the CBI chief.

While the Home Ministry is the cadre controlling authority of IPS officers, the CBI comes under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), along with the Union Public Service Commission, CVC, Central Information Commission and some others. The DoPT is also located in North Block, near the Home Ministry.

Who selects the CBI brass?

The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act governs the appointment of the CBI Director. The Centre appoints the CBI chief based on the recommendation of a search committee comprising the Prime Minister as the chairperson, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. In the absence of a formal Leader of Opposition, as is currently the case, the leader of the largest Opposition party takes part in the search committee meetings. 

The Home Ministry, which is the cadre controlling authority for the Indian Police Service (IPS), prepares a list of IPS officers eligible for the post on the basis of their seniority and experience in the field of probe.

The Home Ministry list is forwarded to the DoPT. The DoPT prepares the final list. The search committee examines the list and sends its recommendation to the government.