Central Vigilance Commissioner K.V.Chowdary on Thursday said a committee headed by him unanimously cleared elevation of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rakesh Asthana as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director.
"All I can say is that the process has been followed and the recommendations have been unanimous", Chowdary said, while addressing a news conference here.
According to Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPE), the CVC-led committee recommends the names of officers for appointment and extension of their term. Following that, the CBI director should be consulted by the committee before making any recommendation.
Chowdary said the CBI director is an invitee in the CVC selection committee meeting. He said his views have been taken into account and unanimous recommendations have been made to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
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After Rakesh Asthana was appointed the special director of the CBI last Sunday, senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan said that his appointment shows the Centre is “hell bent on destroying independence and integrity of the CBI.”
Questioning his appointment, Bhushan said: “Rakesh Asthana's name figures in diary of Sterling Biotech, on which CBI itself has registered an FIR. In my view this is totally illegal and we will certainly challenge it,” Bhushan added.
Earlier in August, the CBI's Delhi Unit had registered a FIR against three senior Income Tax Commissioners for accepting bribes from the Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech and Sandesara Group of Companies. The FIR says there existed a "Diary 2011" which was found during raids on a company. According to reports, the diary also contained Asthana's name.
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Bhushan on behalf of NGO Common Cause, has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the apex court seeking to quash Asthana's appointment in accordance with the Vineet Narain case.
The Common Cause in their petition said that the government did not follow rules and regulations while appointment of the CBI Director.
The petitioner alleged that the government wanted to appoint its own choice as interim CBI Director "even if it meant bypassing the statutory law, the norms of propriety, and the directions contained in the Vineet Narain's judgement".
"The judgment in Vineet Narain's case had clearly held that the tenure of CBI Director would be two years. This was to ensure that there is no ad-hocism in the appointment and functioning of the CBI Director," the petition states.
"Therefore, the petitioner submits that the government must be directed to comply with the mandate of the law and call for the meeting of the selection committee as per the DSPE Act, 1946 as amended by Lokpal Act, 2013," the petition added.
After the elevation, Asthana has become the second senior-most officer in the agency after CBI director Alok Verma
With Agency Inputs
