Former Chhattisgarh HC judge new CLB chief

Retired Chattisgarh High Court judge Dilip Rao Saheb Deshmukh today assumed charge as the Company Law Board Chairman, four days ahead of his scheduled joining date, as the arrest of presiding chairman R Vasudevan left the board crippled.

"See how fast we act (on joining of the new CLB chairman)," Minister of Corporate Affairs Salman Khurshid said.

"Speaking to him (Deshmukh), you feel that we have not appointed a policeman or a clerk but a person who represents the vision of what we want to do in this country and ensure that everybody should understand that there is a law we have to follow," Khurshid told PTI here.

Vasudevan, who was arrested late Monday night by the CBI, has been charged of allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 7 lakh for giving a favourable order on a petition involving a leading vernacular daily.

After Vasudevan's arrest the Delhi bench of the CLB was lying vacant. The governemnt said it will go by the rules in carrying out the investigations.

"We will be following the government rules (of suspension) that applies to any govt officer who is being tried by any investigating agency," Khurshid said when asked if Vasudeavan would be suspended.

According to sources, about 2,000 cases are pending before the board as on March 2009, most being high-profile corporate disputes.