Prashant Bhushan Moves SC, Seeks Court-Monitored SIT Probe Into Charges of Malpractice in CBI

Contending that the recent actions of the government in divesting CBI Director Alok Verma of his powers and sending him on leave, and that the continuation of Special Director Rakesh Asthana (who has since been suspended) is gravely inimical to the independence and integrity of the India’s premier investigating agency, activist lawyer has moved the Supreme Court by way of a PIL filed through NGO Common Cause.

Also Watch: Modi Won't Allow Enquiry into Rafale as it Reeks of Corruption - Prashant Bhushan

The petition also seeks constitution of a Special Investigating Team to probe the recent unprecedented events in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and also to investigate the allegations of corruption against some senior officials of the CBI and submit the report before the Supreme Court. Besides, the petition also brings up the tainted past of r Nageshwar Rao, who was appointed after Verma’s ouster, and contends that he is unfit to be in that exalted position.

Serious Corruption Charges Against Asthana and Rao

The petition mentions that on June 28, 2011, while Asthana was still a top cop in Gujarat , the Income Tax Department conducted raids on a number of premises of the Sandesara Group of Companies and Sterling Biotech Limited in Gujarat, and included among the incriminating material recovered was a diary which noted that a sum of Rs 3.38 crore had been paid to Asthana for calling off the probe against these two entities. The contents of this handwritten diary has not been disputed since. It is also pertinent to mention that from 2010 to 2012, Asthana’s son Ankush was employed as an Assistant Manager in Sterling Biotech, and this was the arrangement which was used to make the payoff, the petition contends.

Also Read: CBI Director Alok Verma’s Ouster: Modi Government’s Action is of Dubious Legality

Moreover, in 2016, Asthana organised a lavish wedding for his daughter during the course of which he partook, for free, or at hugely concessional rates, the hospitality of a number of five-star hotels and luxury resorts, including that owned by the Sandesara Group of companies.

Bhushan also mentions a September 22, 2018 press statement of the CBI mentioning that there were at least half-a-dozen cases in which Asthana was facing a probe, though the CBI later termed these allegations as malicious and frivolous.

Regarding Rao, the petition mentions the contents of an online blog – Savukku, in which it is alleged that Rao is the CBI’s “black sheep” and details the long history of his alleged corruption and bribery, since he was serving in Tamil Nadu.

As per the report, Alok Verma had apparently ordered a discreet enquiry against Mr. Rao, when he was posted as Joint Director, Chennai Zone, CBI and had ordered transfer of the investigation of important cases from Chennai Zone of CBI to Banking and Securities Fraud Cell in Bangalore. Rao is also alleged to own benami properties in the name of his wife and disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Verma’s Illegal Ouster, CBI Malpractices

Invoking provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946 (which governs how the CBI is to be run) and the Central Vigilance Commission Act, the PIL contends that the ouster of Alok Verma is patently illegal and wholly “mala fide”. It also contends that because on October 5, Verma met Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha and Prashant Bhushan who have filed a PIL against the Rafale deal and also submitted a complaint to the CBI for investigation, the government might have been wary and hence taken this vindictive stance.