CJI’s word of caution to CBI 

(Mians GS 2 : Statutory, Regulatory and various Quasi-judicial Bodies.)

Context:

• Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana has warned India’s premier investigative agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), that its aura of reverence has grown dull.
• CJI condemned the utter subordination of agencies to the executive and its disastrous consequences for the cause of justice.

About CBI:

• The CBI is the premium investigating agency of the GOI which established on  the recommendation of Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption.
• CBIis not a statutory body rather it derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
• It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India.
• The agency has been known to investigate several economic crimes, special crimes, cases of corruption and other cases.

Stand up to unethical pressures:

• CJI’s stern warning that investigating agencies will pay a heavy price for their utter willingness to stoop to please politicians should be taken seriously by all outfits, especially the CBI, which has had a patchy record with regard to political interference in sensitive investigations.
• The CJI called upon investigators to stand up to unethical pressures in order not to betray the trust reposed in them by the public.
• He even dropped a hint that if middle- and senior-level investigators deviated from the path of objectivity and neutrality, they would pay for it dearly.

Need strong leadership:

• The CBI has some of the brightest Indian Police Service officers in its higher echelons and none of them may be expected to be reckless and sacrifice their careers by bending to unethical pressures from their Director or from the government’s echelons.
• However, there needs to be a strong and virtuous leader who will not only be honest but also stick his neck out to protect his deputies if and when confronted by an unscrupulous political heavyweight.
• If the CBI has to tread the path of virtue, it should have the strongest leader with a distinct belief in the law and ethics.

Display leadership:

• Unfortunately, this has proved that whatever the courts may do to enforce discipline and adherence to the law, there are the odd leaders who could subvert the system.
• Little can be done to move away from this unfortunate situation unless there are bold and enlightened persons heading investigation agencies, and who will be firm with the executive if it tries to intimidate junior officers.
• Given the magnitude of the problem, strong steps need to be taken to check dishonesty in the higher echelons of the government and appoint a sufficiently courageous director who will display leadership to the organization.

Weeding out the dishonest:

• CJI proposes an umbrella organisation that will oversee all investigating agencies to avoid having multiple agencies looking into the same set of allegations.
• However, apart from its impracticality, such a novel body could generate its own problems like turf wars and ego clashes.
• Thus, rather than having an umbrella organization, focus should be on weeding out the dishonest among officers and rewarding those who have shown and proven themselves to be honest and professionally innovative.

Conclusion:

• If the CBI is to tread the path of virtue, it should have a strong leader with a distinct belief in the law and ethics.