Supreme Court reinstates Alok Verma as CBI Director

January 8: CBI chief Alok Verma was reinstated by the Supreme Court today, three months after the government divested him of his powers and sent him on forced leave in a midnight swoop. For Alok Verma, there was a major reprieve from the Supreme Court. There was however a major clause, while passing the order and the court said that he would not be able to take any major policy decision until the Selection Committee takes a final decision.

Verma had challenged the Narendra Modi government’s decision to divest him of his duties and send him on leave on October 23. An NGO, Common Cause, also filed a petition against the government’s move, and the court bunched the two together. Mr Verma’s term ends on January 31. Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana, the CBI’s top two officers, were both sent on leave in October in the middle of a bitter feud between them. Around 2 AM, Nageswar Rao took charge and signed off on the transfer of half-a-dozen officers on Mr. Verma’s team. Mr. Asthana remains on forced leave. There is also no decision on the transfers.

The Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India. This committee is responsible for both the appointment and removal of a CBI chief as laid down in the Vineet Narain verdict of 1997. The date of the meeting is yet to be fixed and only once it meets will the fate of Verma be decided.

Opposition parties grabbed the judgement as vindication of their criticism that the government was “dictatorial”. Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that the court ruling was a “direct indictment” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a statement, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) called the verdict a “blow to Modi”. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the court had struck down Modi’s “illegal” order. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha described the order as a “big slap” on the face of the government.