The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued notice to the Central government, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on a petition seeking that the CBI be insulated from the political and other influence that is exerted upon it by the present government.
A bench of acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw sought the responses of the ministry of law, department of personnel and training (DoPT), CVC and the CBI within two weeks on the petition which claims that the Central government has been using the national investigating body as an instrument to target political opponents and to strike political bargains, which leads to grave miscarriage of justice.
The PIL has been filed by Vijay Sai Reddy, a chartered accountant who is being prosecuted by the CBI in Andhra Pradesh. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Mr Reddy, cited the Supreme Court judgment in the Vineet Narain case of 1998 in which concerns were raised regarding the functioning of the CBI, including the “superintendence of the government over the agency”.
The top court had then ruled that the CVC be given statuary status and that the Centre not interfere in the CBI’s functioning, Mr Luthra said, adding that this time too the judiciary needs to intervene to ensure that functioning of the CBI is independent of any government pressures.
The petition seeks that for the institutional integrity of the CBI, it should be given statuary status and should be autonomous in its functioning. It also seeks direction to the Centre that it cannot deny approval to the agency to pursue any legal remedies including appealing to courts and that the CBI be conferred with the power to select and appoint its own legal counsels through its own procedure.
The petition also seeks that the Delhi Special Police establishment Act, 1946, which governs the CBI’s power to investigate, be done away with as it has made the agency “subservient to diktats of the ruling political leaders”.