Ummid Assistant

Taj Group to train underprivileged rural youth in Maharashtra

Robotics competition for Andhra school students

Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » National

SC terms CBI caged parrot speaking in master's voice

Wednesday May 08, 2013 08:54:17 PM, IANS

Related Article

SC for liberating CBI from government interference

In scathing criticism of the government's interference in the CBI probe into the allocation of coal blocks, the Supreme Court  »

I

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday termed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) a "caged parrot" that "speaks in its master's voice" and asked the government whether it intended to make the agency's functioning independent.

"It is a caged parrot speaking in its master's voice," a bench headed by Justice R.M. Lodha said, adding: "It's a sordid saga that there are many masters and one parrot."

The court's observations came on CBI director Ranjit Sinha's second affidavit filed on Monday stating that Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and senior officials of the Prime Minister's Office and the coal ministry had made certain changes in the report on the allocation of coal blocks.

The bench also asked the government whether it was contemplating a law to make the working of the CBI independent and insulate it from extraneous intrusion and interferences.

There are other ways of bringing the law, Justice Lodha said, apparently pointing to ordinance route as parliament adjourned sine die Wednesday two days ahead of scheduled.

"The best things would be that such a law is put in place before the next hearing of the case (July 10) so that there would be an impartial and non-partisan independent investigating agency," the judge said.

Pointing to such a scenario, Justice Lodha said: "It would be golden. It would really be wonderful."

Making it clear that choice was with the government, the bench, which also included Justice Madan B.Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph said in case government dithered, it would step in.

"If the CBI is not made independent, we will step in," it observed adding that "CBI must know how to stand up against all pulls and pressures by government and its officials."

Referring to the changes in the CBI status report, the court asked "whether central government intends to bring some law to ensure the independence of CBI and its functional autonomy and insulate it from extraneous influences and interferences and make it a non-partisan investigating agency”.

The court's poser came as it said that it wanted to know the government's position before it could embark on an exercise to make the CBI's functioning independent and free from political and extraneous interferences.

“We would like to know the government's position before any exercise by us to ensure that the CBI functioned effectively, efficiently and independently particularly in cases regarding corruption," the bench stated.

As Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati told the court he would seek instructions from the government on this point, the court, while referring to its judgment in Vineet Narain case in mid-1990s - when it had passed orders to check political and other interferences in the CBI's working - Justice Lodha said that “after so many years we are at the worst stage."

Asking the attorney general whether it should undertake the exercise to make CBI independent and effective, the court asked if government was inclined to "enact an effective law in a particular time”.

"We want an unambiguous assurance, very clear and candid assurance from you that law will be in place in a particular time", Justice Lodha told Vahanvati.

The apex court also questioned the credibility of the CBI probe into the allocation of coal blocks and asked for a thorough and qualitative investigation.

Expressing displeasure at the government's interference in the coal allocation probe report, the court said, "the heart of the report was changed on the suggestions of the government officials".

Asking the government to make the investigating agency impartial, the apex court said it needs to be ensured that the CBI functions free of all external pressures.

It also said that the "job of CBI is not to interact with government officials but to interrogate to find the truth".

The court said the agency "must know how to stand up against all pulls and pressures by government and its officials."

 








 

Home | Top of the Page

Comments

Note: By posting your comments here you agree to the terms and conditions of www.ummid.com

Comments powered by DISQUS

i

More Headlines

Under renovation Mosque collapsed in Malegaon, one dead

Mixed bag for Muslim candidates as Cong regains Karnataka after 08 years

SP opens its account in Karnataka assembly

Shafiqur Rahman walks out of LS while Vande Mataram being played

US: No Entry for Mr. Narendra Modi

Protestors disrupt IMF chief's programme in Amsterdam

24 of 30 Rahmani 30 students qualify for JEE - Advanced 2013

NSUI leader's nude dance embarrasses Congress

Imran Khan seriously injured during election rally

Regularise stay or return home, Riyadh mission tells Indians

Don't execute my husband, Bhullar's wife tells SC

 

Top Stories

Karnataka Polls

Congress set to form govt, BJP routed

The Congress Wednesday appeared set to emerge as the single largest party albeit with a slender  »

Mixed bag for Muslim candidates as Cong regains Karnataka after 08 years

SP opens its account in Karnataka assembly

 

  Most Read

Malegaon Mosque collapse

Death toll two, at least four still trapped

The death toll in the Sulaimani Masjid collapse has been raised to two while at least  »

Under renovation Mosque collapsed in Malegaon, one dead

Role Model

A dream come true, says Madrasa graduate selected for civil services

Throughout my Madrasa life, the one dream that I've cherished while sleeping on the straw mats, was to clear the Civil Services exams, Hammad Zafar  »

 

  News Pick

'786' proved lucky for Pervez Naikwadi in Civil Services exams

Pervez Naikwadi has always kept very close to his heart '786', the number considered auspicious by many in the Indian sub-continent. And when the results of the 2012 UPSC Mains  »

21-year old Saalim Nachan gets bail after eight months in jail

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to Saalim Nachan - a 21-year-old engineering student who was arested for allegedly opening fire at a VHP member Manoj Raicha in 2012. Saalim's advocate Rebecca Gonsalves  »

DRDO scientist can be reinstated if cleared by court, says Antony

Aijaz Ahmed - a Junior Research scientist at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) can be reinstated if he gets cleared from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court, Defence Minister AK Antony said in the Lok Sabha on Monday. “National Investigation   »

07/11 Mumbai blast

Info sought under RTI contradicts witness statements

Information obtained under Right to Information (RTI) Act contradicted what had been claimed by the witnesses in the July 11, 2006 Mumbai train blast, an accused said in the Special Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) Court on Monday  »

 

Picture of the Day

Parvez Naikwadi (left) and Shakeel Ansari met Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Moday. The two are among the 30 Muslims who have  cleared the 2012 UPSC Mains Exams. Also seen in the picture is Minister of Minority Development Department Arif Naseem Khan.

 

Recommend the story to your friends

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RSS  |  Contact us

 

| Quick links

News

 

Subscribe to

Ummid Assistant

 

National

Science & Technology

RSS

Scholarships

About us

International

Health

Twitter

Government Schemes

Feedback

Regional

History

Facebook

Education

Register

Politics

Opinion

Newsletter

Contact us

Business

The Funny Side

Education & Career

 

 

Ummid.com: Disclaimer | Terms of Use | Advertise with us | Link Exchange

Ummid.com is part of the Awaz Multimedia & Publications providing World News, News Analysis and Feature Articles on Education, Health. Politics, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Industry etc. The articles or the views displayed on this website are for public information and in no way describe the editorial views. The users are entitled to use this site subject to the terms and conditions mentioned.

© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.