NEW DELHI, July 3: In a move to grant more autonomy to the CBI, the Centre today filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court that the probe agency’s director will now be selected by a three-member collegium including Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Chief Justice of India. The CBI chief can be removed only on the recommendation of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner(CVC), said the affidavit filed after the scathing criticism of the apex court that the premier probe agency had been reduced to a caged parrot. Under the proposed changes, the CBI chief will have a minimum tenure of two years. The Centre has, however, made it clear that the CBI director will be answerable to the Department of Personnel. The CBI will be entitled to go through the report or the charge sheet before it is submitted to the court. No ministers or bureaucrats will have the powers to interfere either in the investigation or to tamper with the CBI report. The CBI director will also get more financial powers. The President will appoint the CBI director on the recommendation of the three-member panel and the director can be transferred by the President only on the recommendation of the three-member panel. The Centre filed the affidavit following the directions from the apex court issued on the previous hearing of a PIL in the coalgate scam case. A bench headed by Justice R M Lodha had described the CBI as a ‘caged parrot’. The scathing criticism by the Supreme Court came when it was informed that the CBI status report dated March 8, 2013 was vetted by then Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, Attorney General of India G E Vahnavati and two Joint Secretary-level officers in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Coal Ministry. The final hearing of the case will be held on July 10. (UNI)
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