Group of Ministers on CBI autonomy to meet today

The Group of Ministers (GoM) appointed to discuss modalities for ensuring greater independence for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will meet on Thursday in Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's office.

According to a television channel report, the government had set up the GoM after the Supreme Court had pulled it over the lack of functional autonomy to the CBI.

The Supreme Court in its order has asked the government to bring a law which gives the central agency a functional autonomy and also stops interference in its functioning.

Apart from Chidambaram, the GOM includes Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy, Law and Justice Minister Kapil Sibal, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari.

Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha and Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar are special invitees.

The GoM's terms of reference include - evolving a statutory framework for securing independence of CBI on lines of the SC order, focus on independence of the CBI, focus on functional autonomy of the CBI, protect the CBI from external influences and look at any other issue raised by the apex court order.