CBI vs CBI: Supreme Court to hear Alok Verma’s plea against government order

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief Alok Verma’s petition challenging government’s decision of removing him from his power and sending him on compulsory leave will be heard by the Supreme Court today.

Notably, CBI chief dragged the government to court after its midnight action. In his petition, he said that the autonomy of the country’s prime investigation agency is being compromised.

CBI chief Verma has challenged the government order on the grounds that a 1998 verdict by the Supreme Court stipulated that the CBI Director should have a fixed minimum tenure of two years. His petition also said that Asthana ‘concocted evidence’ against him to accuse him of corruption.

The three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice SK Kaul and Justice KM Joseph will hear the crucial petition of Alok Verma. They will also hear another plea by non-profit Common Cause — asking for a Special Investigative Team probe into corruption allegations against some CBI officials, including Asthana.

Senior jurist Fali Nariman is expected to represent Verma in the apex court, Attorney General KK Venugopal will represent the centre, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta will appear on behalf of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on PM Modi led government of violating the law. The Congress president said that the CBI chief can’t be removed without the approval of the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition in Parliament.

Following the attack of Rahul Gandhi, the agency announced that both the officers will retain their power. However, M Nageswar Rao has been given interim charge of the agency.

Congress is likely to stage a protest outside the CBI headquarters on Friday to raise the issue of the investigation agency’s ‘slumping’ credibility. Importantly, the protest will be led by Rahul Gandhi.

Also read: Alok Verma still the boss, CBI says