PIL in HC against Centre's orders sending CBI chief and second in command on leave

A PIL was on Friday moved in the Delhi High Court challenging the Centre's orders sending CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana on leave and appointing IPS officer M Nageshwar Rao as interim head of the agency, alleging that the decisions were "completely illegal".

However, the high court declined to pass any orders in the matter saying the same issue was pending before the Supreme Court and it will await the top court's decision before taking a call on whether to hear the PIL.

"The same issue is pending before the Supreme Court. It is seized of the matter. Let us see what the Supreme Court decides. Judicial propriety dictates that we should not intervene once the matter is in SC. It is not proper to run a parallel proceeding here," a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao said and listed the matter on November 14.

The apex court on Friday set a deadline of two weeks for the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to complete the inquiry against Verma, who has been divested of his duties and sent on leave in view of the feud between him and Asthana.

The top court also directed that the inquiry be conducted under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge and also barred Rao, who has been given interim charge of looking after the duties of the CBI Director, from taking any major or policy decision.

In the petition filed in the high court, petitioner Sunklan Porwal has contended that the central government's October 23 orders were in violation of a apex court verdict laying down the tenure of a CBI chief, and various provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act under which the agency was set up and therefore, liable to be set aside.

The petitioner, a lawyer by profession, has also challenged the other interim measures taken on October 23 by the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

The petition has contended that a bare reading of the provisions and the order of the apex court makes it clear that "the term of the Director CBI was for a fixed period of two years and no authority other than the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet could have curtailed the said term".

The October 23 orders were issued by the central government after CBI on October 22 arrested DSP Devender Kumar in connection with bribery allegations involving the agency's second-in-command Asthana.

Kumar, who was earlier the investigating officer in a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi, was arrested by the CBI on the allegations of forgery in recording the statement of businessman Sathish Sana, who had alleged to have paid bribe to get relief in the case.

In his statement, Sana had purportedly said that he had in June this year discussed his case with Telugu Desam Party's Rajya Sabha member C M Ramesh who, after speaking to the CBI Director, had assured him that he would not be summoned again.

Asthana, who was booked by the agency on bribery charges in an unprecedented action, had complained against CBI Director Verma on August 24, 2018.

The CBI Special Director moved the high court on October 23 against the lodging of an FIR against him in a bribery case.

The high court protected him from arrest in the case till October 29.