Cabinet okay to GoM recommendations

Panel of ex-judges to monitor probes, more financial powers for chief; affidavit on proposals to go to Supreme Court

The Union cabinet on Thursday paved the way for greater autonomy for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It has proposed a panel of retired judges be set up to monitor its investigations.

Giving assent to the recommendations on the agency by a specially constituted Group of Ministers (GoM), the cabinet also approved an expansion in the financial powers of the CBI Director.  

The cabinet also approved a new mechanism for appointment of the agency’s director (prosecution), presently appointed by the law ministry.     

The GoM was headed by finance minister P Chidambaram. Other members were Kapil Sibal (law), Sushilkumar Shinde (home), Salman Khurshid (external affairs) and V Narayansamy (minister of state for personnel). It concluded its deliberations on Monday. The GoM was set up in the wake of the Supreme Court’s observations on the CBI while hearing the coal block allocation case, referring to it as a “caged parrot”.

The apex court had directed the government to come out with a law to insulate the agency from external influence and intrusion.

The approved recommendations will be incorporated in the affidavit to the Supreme Court early next week. The case’s next hearing is July 10. The government would also be informing the apex court about the pending Lok Pal Bill in Parliament, at present under the consideration of the Rajya Sabha. A select committee of the Rajya Sabha had earlier recommended the CBI chief be selected through a collegium of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

After the GoM’s final meeting on Monday, Law Minister Kapil Sibal had told reporters, “We have decided and that is a fundamental principle of the Constitution, that there should be no interference of government or any other agency in the probe carried out the CBI or any other agency. We are committed to that. We feel there should be accountability along with autonomy.”

The Supreme Court’s scathing observations of  “we can't have CBI a caged parrot speaking in the master's voice. It is a sordid saga where there are many masters and one parrot” had come in the backdrop of CBI Director R Sinha having admitted in an affidavit to having shared a draft coal block allocation probe report with former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and two joint secretaries -- Shatrughna Singh and A K Bhalla from the Prime Minister's Office and coal ministry, respectively.

Following this controversy, under which the government was attacked from all quarters for interfering in the CBI’s working, Ashwani Kumar had to step down.