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PM’s advice to CBI is sound, but an independent umbrella body, as mooted by former CJI Ramana, is worth weighing

cbi, modi, pm
There is, of course, no doubt that the investigative agencies have always had their strings pulled by whoever was in power.

Prime minister Narendra Modi’s advice to the Central Bureau of Investigation is spot on. Speaking at an event to mark the diamond jubilee celebrations of the CBI on Monday, the PM said the country’s premier investigative agency should “focus on its work” and should not spare any corrupt person. There also can’t be any argument against his view that the scams a decade ago led to destruction of the system and an atmosphere of policy paralysis brought development to a standstill. The speech waded into troubled waters only when it sought to put the entire blame of the CBI’s perception problem on the Opposition parties who, the PM said, have created an ecosystem that targets investigative agencies. The facts, however, are far more nuanced here.

The CBI’s perception problem that led the Supreme Court in 2013 to refer to it as a caged parrot arises from the hard reality that the country’s premier investigating agencies have been used as instruments of blackmail and intimidation by successive governments. That has to change. For example, an investigation by the Indian Express in September last year showed a sharp spike in the number of Opposition politicians and their close relatives under CBI’s scanner since 2014. Of the 124 prominent politicians who had been under CBI probe since that year, as many as 118 of them are from the Opposition—a staggering 95%, up from 60% during the United Progressive Alliance years. This raises disquieting questions about the process becoming the punishment and an increasingly apparent convergence between the ruling party’s pet political peeves and action by the CBI and ED. There is, of course, no doubt that the investigative agencies have always had their strings pulled by whoever was in power.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice had said in a report tabled in the Rajya Sabha in December last year that the CBI’s conviction of cases rate has come down while its pendency in courts has escalated. Expressing concerns that some cases were pending for over 20 years, the committee said in the interest of transparency and fair play, the CBI must put a case management system in place to track the progress and pursue it to its logical conclusion. The CBI, of course, has its own set of problems regarding lack of infrastructure, manpower and modern equipment. It is also true that as many as eight states have not helped matters by withdrawing the general consent previously granted to the CBI.

One way out of the problem with the investigative agencies was prescribed by then Chief Justice of India, M V Ramana, last year. Pointing out that the CBI’s credibility has come under deep public scrutiny with the passage of time as its “actions and inactions” have raised questions in some cases, the CJI had called for an “independent umbrella institution” to bring various investigating agencies under one roof. This, he said, was required for the CBI to gain social legitimacy and public trust, and the first step is to break the nexus with the political executive. It is doubtful whether the CJI’s proposal will be discussed or taken seriously by the political executive. That’s because within days of the CJI’s suggestion, Union law minister Kiren Rijiju said that the CBI was “truly performing its duty.” Some things apparently can never change.

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First published on: 05-04-2023 at 04:00 IST
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