SC asks CBI to fill up vacancies immediately

The Supreme Court on Monday, asking the CBI to fill up its vacant posts "immediately", also blamed the agency for not filling up the vacancies which has led to a shortfall of investigators.

A division bench of Justice T.S.Thakur and Justice C. Nagappa even remarked that there "should be a CBI probe against CBI for not promoting staffers inside CBI".

"You (CBI) have created the present situation because of your own apathy towards the problem on which you keep harping upon," it said adding that the agency, which does not promote its own people, keeps alleging non-cooperation by the state police.

The court had earlier sought response from the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI) on several counts relating to its staff strength - both of its own and those coming from the states on deputation - as it was told that it had 754 vacancies as its staff strength and particularly how the investigators were unmatched to the undertaking of probing the Saradha and non-Saradha chit fund scam cases.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Singh, appearing for CBI told the bench that there has been a shortfall of staffers in the agency and currently there were over 700 vacancies at different levels. There has been "no comprehensive revision of cadre" since its inception in 1963, he added.

Asking the CBI to fill up the vacancies, the court said: "You have been telling Kolkata people (to provide it with investigators to probe chit fund scam). Tell us, what have you done to bring 317 persons (total vacancies under deputation quota) into your own fold."

The ASG told the bench that some recruitment has been undertaken and Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi himself was looking into it.

The court adjourned the hearing by two weeks.

In earlier hearing, the CBI had told the court that the sanctioned strength of the CBI was 4,544 from its director to a constable at the bottom but in actuality, they have only 3,790 personnel.