TILL August 15, Joginder Singh was defending his August 3 meeting—three days after he took charge as the CBI chief—with former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. But after the three-judge SC bench, headed by Justice J.S. Verma, reprimanded him for "meeting persons from various political parties who are being investigated in the hawala case, under the guise of seeking their guidance", he was cringing with embarrassment.
The apex court had advised Singh on the day of his appointment that he should not take instructions from anybody except the court. But Singh met Rao and Chandra Shekhar, and also sought an appointment with BJP chief L.K. Advani.
Little wonder then that, on the basis of news reports, the court summoned Singh to appear before it. It said: "Mr Director, it's unfortunate that you have chosen to take your first step in the wrong direction. A different impression can be created about you if you act in such a manner."
The court observed that by looking up to 'unauthorised sources' for guidance, the CBI chief had rendered the entire exercise of the court in monitoring the hawala probe useless. If he continued to act in a manner "not conducive to upholding the dignity of the high office", the judges said they might have to intervene and act accordingly against him. "In future any guidance you want should be taken only from the attorney-general and his law officers," the court said.
Chastened, Singh picked up the cue: "Your Lordships, I assure you...there will be no more occasion for anything like this to happen in the future."
While Prime Minister Deve Gowda's Janata Dal reacted evasively to the court observation, the Communist Party of India pulled no punches. Said General Secretary A.B. Bardhan: "Joginder Singh is politicising the CBI, he deserves more than what the Supreme Court has said."
