What is it?
Alok Verma, an IPS officer of the 1979 batch, was removed as Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a second time on January 10, barely 48 hours after the Supreme Court had restored his position. His rival and the number 2, Rakesh Asthana, a 1984-batch officer of the Gujarat cadre, too was transferred a week after Mr. Verma. The government is hoping that it brings the unprecedented internecine war in the country’s premier investigation agency to an end. Both hand-picked officers of the Narendra Modi government, they took personal rivalry to a new low, finally reaching the Supreme Court. On October 23, 2018, when the government divested Mr. Verma of his powers and forced him to go on ‘compulsory leave,’ he challenged the decision in the Supreme Court. He contended that since he was appointed for a two-year tenure by a high-power selection committee, comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the leader of the single largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha, only the committee could remove him. He also challenged the order of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner to remove him for not “co-operating in an inquiry and not submitting required submissions.” On January 8, the court restored Mr. Verma to his post but did not go into the merits of corruption allegations against him.
How did it come about?
It all started in the middle of 2017 when the government refused to appoint IPS officers recommended by Mr. Verma to the CBI. In October 2017, when the government was about to consider a promotion for Mr. Asthana to the rank of Special Director, Mr. Verma submitted a note to the CVC, alleging that the blue-eyed officer of the Modi regime had taken a bribe in the Sterling Biotech case that the agency was investigating for default of over ₹5,000 crore in loans. He alleged that a diary found on the premises of Sterling had mentioned that Mr. Asthana had received a bribe of ₹3.8 crore. Yet, the government promoted Mr. Asthana. This worsened relations between the two. In June 2018, the former CBI chief wrote to the CVC again that Mr. Asthana could not represent the Director at official meetings. In a tit-for-tat allegation, Mr. Asthana wrote to the Cabinet Secretary in August 2018, accusing Mr. Verma of meddling in a probe and preventing a raid against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in the IRCTC scam. Mr. Verma hit back, and on October 15, the CBI registered a case of bribery against Mr. Asthana, alleging that the agency’s number two officer had received a bribe of ₹2 crore in the Moin Qureshi money laundering case. Mr. Asthana moved the Delhi High Court to quash the FIR. On October 23, the CBI’s internal tussle peaked. Mr. Verma ordered Mr. Asthana to be stripped of all his powers since he was “under investigation for extortion and bribery.” The CVC, who performs a supervisory role of monitoring the CBI under the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, stepped in by divesting Mr. Verma of all powers. The government, which had been a silent spectator until then, too intervened. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), under which the CBI functions, divested Mr. Verma of all functions and responsibilities. On learning about his midnight removal, Mr. Verma moved the Supreme Court.
Why does it matter?
The entire episode not only dented the CBI’s image but the rivalry between two top officers split the agency into camps where subordinate officers went by personal loyalties rather than upholding the rule of law. Experts said the CBI, which has often been described as being a “caged parrot,” was now witnessing a “gang war.”
What lies ahead?
The selection committee is meeting this Thursday to decide on a new full-time Director as Mr. Verma’s original two-year tenure would have ended on January 31. The biggest task before the government is to restore the credibility of the agency by appointing an officer of impeccable record.