NEW DELHI: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director Alok Verma‘s lawyer and senior advocate Fali S Nariman, told the Supreme Court on Thursday that he cannot even be transferred without the approval of the selection committee that appointed him, Bar & Bench reported.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph adjourned the hearing for December 5 is hearing two petitions one filed by CBI Director Alok Verma and another by NGO Common Cause.
“How could the government divest Alok Verma of his powers without convening the committee’s meeting? If this is allowed, what happens to the autonomy and independence of CBI,” Nariman told the bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
#CBI – #AlokVerma: The leave order will not stand without permission from the committee, Fali Nariman.
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) November 29, 2018
“With effect from 2014, the appointment of CBI Director is to be done by a committee consisting of Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of India, said Nariman adding “If there is no leader of opposition, then the leader of the single largest party will be part of the committee.”
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Attorney General K K Venugopal opposed the plea of Verma and others and told the court that, “Verma continues to hold the status of Director, and enjoys all privileges and benefits of the post till date.”
Nariman said that the CBI Director was appointed on February 1, 2017 and “the position of law is that there will be a fixed tenure of two years and this gentleman cannot be even transferred,” a leading news agency quoted the lawyer as saying.
Justice KM Joseph hearing the case asked, “Suppose a CBI chief is caught red handed accepting bribe, should the Committee be approached for taking action against him?”
To this Nariman replied, “Even in that situation the committee has to be taken into confidence and only court can decide on the fate of the director.”
The CBI director has been divested of all charges by the Centre and forcibly send him on leave on October 23.