As the de facto leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge is a member of the committee that selects the CBI director.
New Delhi: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge moved the Supreme Court Saturday to challenge the Narendra Modi government’s decision to withdraw all powers from CBI director Alok Kumar, lending a new twist to the CBI vs CBI row that cast a shadow on the premier investigation agency over the past few days.
Kharge, the de facto leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, is a member of the high-level committee that selects the CBI director. The other members of the panel include the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India.
While Kharge is not the designated leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha since the Congress doesn’t have the required strength, he did participate in the selection proceedings when Verma was selected to head the CBI.
His petition may be heard on 12 November, when the Supreme Court again takes up the petition filed by Verma against his ouster.
In his application, Kharge has said that even though he is a member of the committee, he was neither “consulted nor was I a part of any meeting or privy to any decision to divest Alok Kumar Verma of his powers as director, CBI”.
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“It is also not in public domain that any such meeting of the statutory committee was convened,” the petition reads.
“It is therefore clear that the decision to divest Shri Alok Kumar Verma, IPS, of his powers as director, CBI was taken by the political executive in complete contravention of the provisions of the DSPE [Delhi Special Police Establishment] Act, CVC [Central Vigilance Commission] Act and the directions of this Hon’ble Court in Vineet Narain’s case,” the petition adds, seeking that his ouster be “set aside to maintain the institutional sanctity and integrity of the CBI”.
‘Attempt to impede independence of CBI’
Kharge has said that the action by the CVC and the department of personnel and training against Verma is a direct and concerted attempt to impede the independent functioning of the CBI.
On 26 October, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had ordered the CVC to complete its investigation into the bribery and misconduct allegations against Verma in two weeks. The court had also appointed former Supreme Court judge A.K. Patnaik to supervise the probe.
The court had also restrained joint director M. Nageshwar Rao, who was appointed acting director as an “interim measure” till the probe against Verma is underway, from taking any policy decisions.
Rao himself is under the scanner on several allegations of irregularities and corruption.
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Another plea in the Supreme Court, this one filed by NGO Common Cause, has also accused the Modi government of trying to interfere in the functioning of the CBI.