Interim CBI chief Nageswara Rao cancels transfer orders by Alok Verma

Interim CBI director Nageswara Rao on Friday cancelled all transfer decisions taken by Alok Verma during his two days in office after returning as the head of the probe agency.

Verma was sacked as the CBI chief on Thursday night by a selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is the first CBI director to be removed by the committee before completing his two-year term.

The selection committee cvomprised the PM, the Chief Justice of India’s nominee, Justice AK Sikri, and the leader of the single largest opposition party, Mallikarjun Kharge. While PM Modi and Justice Sikri were in favour of Verma’s removal from the agency, Kharge opposed this, and also submitted a dissent note.

Verma has now been transferred as the director general of fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards

Nageswara Rao was also at the helm for 77 days when Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana were on forced leave. The Supreme Court had stopped Rao from taking any major policy decisions. However, no such condition applies on his present tenure.

Verma, who was reinstated as the CBI chief on Wednesday, had signed nearly 24 transfer orders in two days. In October, soon after Verma was divested of his powers, Rao transferred many of the director’s key aides and associates in the agency, including some who were investigating the agency’s special director Asthana. The government divested Asthana of his powers, too, on the intervening night of October 23 and 24.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked the NDA government over the decision to Verma: “Fear is now rampaging through Mr Modi’s mind. He can’t sleep. He stole 30,000Cr from the IAF and gave it to Anil Ambani. Sacking the CBI Chief #AlokVerma twice in a row, clearly shows that he is now a prisoner of his own lies. Satyamev Jayate.”

First Published: Jan 11, 2019 14:43 IST