NEW DELHI: In a significant order March 1st, the Supreme Court effectively took the Central Bureau of Investigation away from the control of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) regarding investigations into the multicore hawala case; instead, the CBI will now report to and receive its instructions from the Supreme Court.

In an order passed here Friday, the three judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice J.S. Verma and consisting of Justices S.P. Bharuch a and S.C, Sen, directed the ‘CBI “not to report or receive instructions in this case even from the authority, which exercises administrative control over the organization.”

‘This order came when Mr, Anil Divan, senior counsel and amicus curies or the coordinator in the hawala ‘case, pointed out that the CBI was under the direct administrative control of the Prime Minister’s Office. Mr. Diwan also drew the court’s attention to several news reports to the effect that the CBI had filed its charge sheets selectively and that each person charge sheeted was first cleared by the Prime Minister personally in a meeting with the CBI director last month. Moreover, the PM’s name had also figured as one of the beneficiaries in the prime accused SK. Jain’s interrogation, Mr. Diwan pointed out. ‘While none of these reports were denied or contradicted, Mr. Diwan ‘stated that “there was conflict of duty ‘and interest. All power is a public trust. Can you investigate yourself?”

Mr. Diwan, therefore, wanted the CBI to be removed from the bureaucratic control of the PMO. He also prayed for the bench to frame guidelines for the independent functioning of the CBI.

In his turn, the Solicitor General of India, Mr, Dipankar Gupta, appearing for the CBI, pointed out that it was not possible to refute every allegation made in the press about the hawala investigations.

 

While the judges did not make any permanent changes in the structure of the CBI, they have removed the CBI from the administrative control of the PMO or any other government authority.

Article extracted from this publication >>  March 6, 1996