Shameful Record

That Mr Singh is unfit for the job is now beyond doubt. But the dilemma lies in finding a solution to the current malaise. Any attempt to turn the CBI into an autonomous organisation seems futile because, in the ultimate analysis, senior appointments will have to flow from the powers reposed in elected representatives. As has been clear from the choice in the past of chief election commissioners or even Supreme Court judges, not to speak of men to become the comptroller and auditor general, it is impossible to insulate such appointments from the play of personal or partisan considerations. The bureaucracy itself need not be the best judge of people to head it. Also, controversy does not surround all cases but a few once in a while. So in such cases, the apex court may best serve the need of the hour by appointing an independent prosecutor, as is done in the US, to go into specific cases. (The role that special prosecutor Archibald Cox played in unravelling the Watergates scandal is part of history). The Supreme Court, by entrusting an independent prosecutor with the investigation of the handful of VIP case that are currently before it, can thereby serve the cause of justice without seeking to take over the functioning of the CBI. And Mr Joginder Singh should be encouraged to step down from an office to which he has brought little other than controversy and disrepute.