No evidence against Alok Verma, says ex-judge who oversaw CVC probe: Report

Justice A K Patnaik has been quoted as saying none of CVC's findings are his and that the PM-led panel which removed Verma as CBI chief made a hasty decision

In a startling revelation, a retired Supreme Court Judge who supervised the CVC enquiry, which led to Alok Verma's removal as the CBI chief said there was no evidence of corruption by the former head of the investigating agency, according to a report in The Indian Express. Justice A K Patnaik is said to have remarked that the decision to remove Verma was ''hasty''. 

Alok Verma submitted his resignation from service on Friday, a day after he was removed from his post by a high powered committee a couple of days after the Supreme Court reinstated him.

His reinstatement had come about two-and-a-half months after being divested of his powers and sent on leave by the government.

Verma was removed from the post on account of the "extremely serious nature of observations made by the CVC against him". A 1979-batch IPS officer, he was posted as DG, Fire Services, Civil Defence, and Home Guards.

CVC Report

According to earlier reports, the CVC found evidence of influencing of investigation in the Moin Qureshi case. There was also evidence of Verma taking bribe of Rs 2 crore, the sources claimed.

The CVC was of the view that Verma's conduct in the case was "suspicious," and there was a "prima facie case" against him. The CVC also felt that the "entire truth will come out if a criminal investigation is ordered."

In the IRCTC case, the CVC felt that it can be reasonably concluded that Verma allegedly "deliberately excluded" a name from the FIR, for reasons "best known to him," the sources said.

The CVC found evidence against Verma in several other cases as well, the sources said, including instances of wilful non-production and fabrication of record. The Committee also took note of Verma's alleged attempts to induct officers of doubtful integrity in the CBI.

In response to the "insinuation" that he was not given a chance to be heard, the sources said that Verma was given an opportunity to present his case before the CVC in the presence of Retd. Justice Patnaik.

Who is Justice A K Patnaik?

The retired judge who supervised the CVC probe against CBI Director Alok Verma was once a member of a constitution bench that is credited with giving new wings to the "caged parrot" by scrapping the need for the agency to take the government's permission for acting against senior officers.

The provision under Section 6 (a) was inserted in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, which governs the CBI, in 2003 during the regime of the NDA led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

This made it compulsory for the CBI to take permission of the government to initiate any enquiry or investigation against officials of the rank of joint secretary or above.

A constitution bench comprising justices R M Lodha, A K Patnaik, S K Mukhopadhaya, Dipak Misra and Ibrahim Kalifulla had struck it down in 2014.