New Delhi: DoPT controlling day to day affairs of CBI adversely affects the efficacy and independence of its functioning, the agency told Monday the Supreme Court while insisting on ex-officio power of secretary to its Director to reduce bureaucratic layers of scrutiny.
The agency contended before the apex court that there is no rule which says that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) shall control CBI's day to day affairs despite being attached to the department and sought power for operational autonomy.
In an affidavit filed by its advocate Amit Anand Tiwari in connection with the coalgate scam, the agency said, "The sole purpose of the CBI in seeking powers beyond what has been granted to it presently, is to make its Director more empowered to enforce and ensure more professional, efficient, expeditious and impartial conduct of CBI investigations".
"Even if CBI is an attached office with the DoPT, nowhere is it provided in the relevant rules that DoPT shall control the day to day affairs of CBI thereby adversely affecting the efficacy & independence of investigations and prosecution being carried out by CBI," the affidavit said.
"That CBI is admittedly not a wing under the DoPT and the CBI’s proposal of its Director directly reporting to the Minister DoPT is appropriate as it would remove the present anomaly of CBI despite not being wing of DoPT, is still controlled by the DoPT with Secretary DoPT being the reporting authority for the Director," it said.
The agency said CBI never intended to take itself out of the purview of the executive control but there are many instances where lack of adequate administrative & financial powers has resulted in the investigation suffering inordinate and avoidable delays.
It is humbly submitted that in the present arrangement, the administrative, disciplinary and financial powers of CBI Director, are limited and this impinges on his ability to ensure expeditious, complete and independent investigation and high ethical standards among his sub-ordinates.
"Therefore, it is essential that the Director should be vested with ex-officio powers of Secretary, reporting directly to the Minister DoPT without having to go through the long and cumbersome hierarchy of Under Secretary, Director, Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary and Secretary DoPT. This would enhance functional efficacy of CBI investigations, cut the delays on account of bureaucratic red tape," it said.
It submitted that financial & administrative powers are not essential only for its efficient functioning but also for insulating it from bureaucratic control in its day to day functioning that are closely linked with probes.
"It has to be emphasised that operational autonomy of the CBI is predicated on the organisation having sufficient financial and administrative strength to ride over routine obstacles that may come in the way of its day to day functioning. This genuine request of the CBI merits the highest consideration of the Court," it said.
The agency said that its Director is already in the grade & pay scale of Secretary and giving the powers of Secretary would in no way hamper good governance or disturb the necessary checks & balances.
CBI said bureaucratic layers of scrutiny were coming in the way of providing essential and necessary wherewithal to its investigators. "That this so called layers of scrutiny are the genesis of problems being faced by CBI in concentrating its resources to investigative functions.
Due to these multiple layers of scrutiny, the CBI has been encountering delays that adversely affects its primary functions of investigations and prosecutions," it said.
Citing examples of red tapism, the agency said requisition of its Special Director for a laptop had to do the rounds of the layers of scrutiny in the DoPT for nearly 100 days before the same was sanctioned and proposal to purchase new mobiles for officers took three years to get clearance.
It also said that it would be appropriate if CBI is granted powers to appoint its own special counsels on the recommendation of its Director.
Earlier, the Centre rejected CBI's demand to grant of ex-officio power of secretary to its Director. Holding the CBI as its "subordinate office", the Centre had rejected the plea to give more power to its Director, saying it would be bad in law if such demands are met and would result in "vesting unbridled power in one authority".
"While considering the demands of a particular subordinate office like the CBI, it has to keep in mind the issue of parity with similarly-placed organisations and it is not desirable to create new precedent which would create heartburn in similarly-placed organisations.
"The mere fact of same pay scales does not alter the organisational relationship between the Government departments and its subordinate offices. Other Central Armed Forces, Central Police Organisations, officers of the Armed Services many of whom may be enjoying similar pay scales or even higher to that of the Secretary to the government but that does not alter the official procedure," the affidavit had said.
