Views split on CBI's ties with ministry

CBI's move to show the coal probe status report to the law minister and others might have landed the UPA government in trouble, but it is not unusual for the agency to share reports with the Department of Legal Affairs. In fact, CBI's legal team, former officials say, is largely constituted by law ministry officials. "Legal wing of CBI owes its loyalty to the law ministry first," said Joginder Singh, former CBI director.

According to CBI officials, while there is nothing mandatory about sharing legal reports with the law ministry, it has been a practice in several cases.

"CBI director is not a free agent. The government has full control over the investigative body and no political party wants to give it up," Singh argued. However, another former CBI director, Vijay Shankar, firmly said: "As per legal provisions, Supreme Court judgments and the practice followed in CBI, no subject matter of an investigation can be shared with anyone."

It was rarity that the law ministry itself asked CBI to get a particular report vetted before submission, pointed out officials in the know.

"In any probe, the opinion has to be of the investigative officer. He cannot delegate it to anyone else. The law ministry has no discretion to interfere in the investigation process. This is why, there is so much discussion about the overhaul of the entire mechanism of appointments in CBI," said Aman Lekhi, senior advocate.

According to legal provisions followed by CBI, it requires special permissions to do any inquiry against a joint secretary and any official above that level. Further permissions are to be taken if any action is to be taken against them.

Also, CBI set itself apart from its international counterparts like FBI which could seek assistance from private detective agencies in any investigation, Singh pointed out.