The Supreme Court has asked CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma to lead a criminal probe against the former agency chief, Ranjit Sinha. Sinha has been accused of trying to influence the investigation of the coal scam. It is the first time that the CBI chief has been asked to look into the charges against a former chief. The Supreme Court has expressed confidence in Verma’s impartiality. In the past, such impartiality has been questioned. The apex court had earlier issued strictures against the CBI in the coal scam and the agency was called ‘a caged parrot’. In 1995 the Supreme Court issued a directive to insulate probing agencies from political influence but that went unheeded. The court made it clear however that it did not want an outside agency to monitor the CBI probe into the coal scam. Only the Central Vigilance Commission could make sure that the CBI probe was not above criticism. The CBI Director was asked to take the Central Vigilance Commissioner into his confidence. On this occasion, the CBI chief, Alok Kumar Verma will have two officers of his agency backing him up.
The charges against Sinha have put the CBI in an unfavourable light. Sinha was found lacking in ethics. The court is now of the opinion that Sinha is prima facie guilty of the charges against him. But it feels that further investigation of his involvement is necessary. However, the fact that the CBI itself has been asked to conduct the investigation somewhat repairs the damage to its image.
