NEW DELHI: The government’s decision to send top CBI officials, including its director, Alok Verma on a forced leave is akin to removal and sets a bad precedent, according to legal experts.
Citing the appointment process of the CBI chief, advocate Prashant Bhushan said, “The CBI director’s minimum tenure is two years and he can’t be removed prematurely by the government. If this practice starts, then the government can transfer or send any officer who doesn’t toe its line before his/her term gets over.”
Echoing the same sentiments, senior Supreme Court lawyer K V Dhananjay said, “The CVC or the central government has no business or legal authority to prevent the CBI director from acting as such. Vacating his office overnight or forcing him to go on leave is unlawful and an affront to the various offices that came together to approve his appointment. If there’s credible information to charge him criminally, there’s no bar in law to do so. But to keep him out of office in this manner is bad in law.”
The process for the CBI director’s appointment has been laid down in Section 4A (as amended upon the enactment of The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013) of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPE), 1946.
According to the Act, the CBI director shall be appointed by the central government on the recommendation of a committee comprising the Prime Minister (as its chairperson), the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha/Leader of single largest Opposition party in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.
Section 4B of the DSPE Act stipulates a tenure of not less than two years for the CBI director. Section 4B(2) bars the transfer of the CBI director without the previous consent of the committee that initially recommends the names for the appointment of the director CBI.
The amendment in the Act which provided fixed tenure to its chief came after the 1998 apex court ruling in Vineet Narain and others vs. Union of India case.Senior advocate KK Sharma said, “Sending Alok Verma on forced leave for an indefinite period amounts to his removal before the expiry of a fixed tenure of two years. Under the present law, even the transfer of the CBI director without the consent of the (appointments) committee is illegal.”