Legality issue of CBI
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: November 12, 2013 -

Alarmed over the possible ramifications, the Supreme Court of India may have stayed the November 7 Gauhati High Court verdict that invalidated the formation of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the Centre sought a special sitting at the Chief Justice's home during the weekend break and fixed December 6 as the next date of hearing of the case, thus, giving some breather, but the real issue at stake, we feel, is not so much about the constitutional validity of the India's premier investigating agency, but its credibility and functioning as an autonomous body.

As Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has stated during the conference of CBI and State Anti-Corruption Bureau on Common Strategies to Combat Corruption and Crime on Monday, November 11 at the National capita, his Government will surely look "promptly" into the legality issue of CBI raised by the Gauhati High Court and do "all that is necessary" to establish the "legitimacy" of the CBI, and "protect its past and future".

So, the question over the validity of India's premier investigating agency as a legally constituted police force is as good as a thing of the past already without even waiting for the next hearing of the case.

Nonetheless, it is good to know that the verdict of the Gauhati High Court has once again raked up the debate over the credibility of the premier investigating police agency of the country after the recent observation of the Supreme Court of India on the functioning of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as a 'caged parrot speaking in its master's voice'.

How the agency, which was established for the first time in 1941 under the name of Special Police Establishment before it takes the present name of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the motto 'Industry, Impartiality and Integrity' on April 1, 1963, has eroded its reputation over the years is an open secret.

Joginger Singh, who was the Director of CBI from 1996 to 1997, and BR Lall, former DGP of Haryana, who handled many high-profile cases including the famous Jain Hawala case during his stint as Joint Director of CBI from 1994 to 1996, have earlier exposed how the investigating agency was engaging in nepotism, mal-prosecution and outright corruption.

In his book, "Who Owns CBI: The Naked Truth", which was published in 2006, BR Lall provided details on the modus operandi of CBI in manipulating and derailing investigation.

In short, with CBI handling many high-profile cases including Bofors scandal, Bhopal gas tragedy, 2G Spectrum Scam and the currently raging Indian coal allocation scam or 'Coalgate', the Central probe agency has never been far away from controversy on account of undue interference from the side Government.

So, ensuring the autonomy of the Central Bureau of Investigation is essential to prevent the any Government of the day from misusing and meddling in the operation of the agency. CBI must be empowered to stand up against all 'pulls and pressures' from the Government and its officials.

In other words, the faith of the people in CBI would come from its autonomy that would give the voice to speak of its own and not of its master's.