Government plans to incorporate provision to remove CBI chief on grounds of proven misbehavior

Aman Sharma, ET Bureau | 5 Sep, 2014, 06.24AM IST 


Ranjit Sinha, is in the eye of a storm over allegations leveled 

against him of meeting those accused or close to the accused

 in the 2G and coal scam. 

NEW DELHI: The BJP government at the Centre plans to amend the law to incorporate a specific provision for the removal of the CBI Director on grounds of proven misbehaviour to correct an anomaly in the present law in which there is no provision to remove the director of the premier investigating agency before the end of a two-year-fixed term.

The present CBI chief, Ranjit Sinha, is in the eye of a storm over allegations leveled against him of meeting those accused or close to the accused in the 2G and coal scam at his residence.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told a television channel on Thursday that a CBI Director must maintain ?certain standards? in view of the nature of cases the agency handles. The government?s options regarding Sinha, who will finish his tenure on December 2, are however limited.

The Delhi Police Special Establishment (DPSE) Act, which governs CBI, has no provision for removal of the CBI Director. It simply says the Centre will appoint a CBI Director for a two-year-fixed term on recommendation of a committee headed by the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

A senior government official said the present government plans to take forward a suggestion made by the UPA government to give powers to the Centre to remove a CBI Director. The provision which could be inserted in the DPSE Act will stipulate that a CBI Director can be removed from office by order of the President on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, based on the report filed by the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

?The suggestion was put before the Supreme Court last year after a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram went into the issue of CBI autonomy. The present government may bring the same before the Cabinet soon or wait for SC?s go-ahead to it,? the top government official said.

In a report released by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January, it was mentioned that the government was mulling introducing provisions for removal of CBI Director. The present law says a CBI Director can at most be transferred before the end of his term, but only after the consent of the committee headed by the CVC that selected him. However, in Sinha?s case, a transfer is also not possible as he is technically a retired officer given he is above 60 years of age. A senior government functionary has told ET that the government is keeping a close watch on the proceedings in the apex court in the matter and an adverse ruling or observation against the CBI Director may render his position untenable. ?A CBI Director can always resign,? he said.

Sinha has denied all allegations against him, saying it is part of a deep-rooted conspiracy.?