After it was accused by the Supreme Court of turning the CBI into "the state's parrot", the government has submitted a 41-page proposal on how to free the CBI of political control.
The document, given to the Supreme Court, keeps administrative control of India's top law enforcement agency firmly with the government, leading CBI officials to comment that the agency "is still a caged parrot."
The proposal says the CBI director will be chosen by a committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge
Investigating officers will be transferred from cases only if ordered by a panel of the CBI Director and two senior officers.
But the CBI has been denied the right to hire its own lawyers, which would have given it greater autonomy in investigations, especially if the government is being probed. It will have to use the government's legal officers to represent it in court. And though its budget has been enhanced, expenses, even minor ones like an officer traveling abroad, still need the government's sanction.
In May, the Supreme Court expressed sharp displeasure over the fact that then Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and other senior officials, including one from the Prime Minister's Office, had amended a report that the court had requested on the CBI's investigation into the allocation of coal licenses which granted huge windfalls to private firms.
"The heart of the report was changed on the suggestions of government officials," Justice RM Lodha said. "The CBI has become the state's parrot," he added.
Anti-corruption campaigner and politician Prashant Bhushan wants the investigation to be transferred to a Supreme Court-monitored team because he says the CBI lacks independence. He dismissed today's proposal as "hogwash."
Coal-Gate is especially sensitive for the government because for some of the years under scrutiny, the Prime Minister held direct charge of the Coal Ministry. That has led to the opposition demanding his resignation.
The document, given to the Supreme Court, keeps administrative control of India's top law enforcement agency firmly with the government, leading CBI officials to comment that the agency "is still a caged parrot."
The proposal says the CBI director will be chosen by a committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge
Investigating officers will be transferred from cases only if ordered by a panel of the CBI Director and two senior officers.
But the CBI has been denied the right to hire its own lawyers, which would have given it greater autonomy in investigations, especially if the government is being probed. It will have to use the government's legal officers to represent it in court. And though its budget has been enhanced, expenses, even minor ones like an officer traveling abroad, still need the government's sanction.
In May, the Supreme Court expressed sharp displeasure over the fact that then Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and other senior officials, including one from the Prime Minister's Office, had amended a report that the court had requested on the CBI's investigation into the allocation of coal licenses which granted huge windfalls to private firms.
"The heart of the report was changed on the suggestions of government officials," Justice RM Lodha said. "The CBI has become the state's parrot," he added.
Anti-corruption campaigner and politician Prashant Bhushan wants the investigation to be transferred to a Supreme Court-monitored team because he says the CBI lacks independence. He dismissed today's proposal as "hogwash."
Coal-Gate is especially sensitive for the government because for some of the years under scrutiny, the Prime Minister held direct charge of the Coal Ministry. That has led to the opposition demanding his resignation.
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