CBI director wins partial victory, institutional autonomy remains a far cry

In a partial victory for Alok Verma, the CBI director has been reinstated by the Supreme Court but restrained from taking any major policy decisions. This is pending any further action against him by the high-powered committee comprising the PM, the leader of the opposition and the CJI. Critically, it is the failure to get prior consent from this committee that led the court to set aside the government’s October 23 order to divest Verma of his powers.

Verma’s two-year tenure as CBI director ends on January 31 in any case, but the implications of today’s judgment go beyond his tenure to the broader question of institutional integrity. When the SC described CBI as a “caged parrot” and “its master’s voice” in 2013, the description really stuck because its independence has been seen as seriously compromised under one government after another – even as its failures have made headlines in one high profile case after another. The two are connected. Autonomy is necessary (but not sufficient) condition for the success of the institution.

Instead of divesting Verma of his powers in a “midnight coup” government should have followed due process. The SC judgment reminds the government of today as well as tomorrow that the CBI director’s fixed tenure has been given statutory backing to protect institutional independence. Stop playing fast and loose with it.

Also read: SC reinstates CBI chief Alok Kumar Verma with a rider: PM-led panel to decide on his future in a week