The Supreme Court's stinging observation in 2013 that the CBI is a "caged parrot" came back to haunt the agency and the Modi government on Friday when Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Friday came down heavily on the premier agency for arresting the Delhi chief minister in the corruption case linked to excise policy 'scam', and said it must dispel the notion of being a caged parrot.  The "caged parrot" observations by Justice Bhuyan brought back the memories of similar remarks made by the apex court during the hearing in the coal scam case in May 2013. In May 2013,  Supreme Court judge Justice RM Lodha ( since retired) dubbed the CBI as a "caged parrot speaking in master's voice", during the infamous coal scam case. The "caged parrot" remarks by the apex court in 2013 were latched on by the then-opposition parties to attack the then-Manmohan Singh-led UPA government over corruption allegations. 

In recent times, opposition parties have been severely criticising the central probe agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate for targeting their leaders, allegedly at the behest of the BJP-led Centre. After the BJP came to power in 2014, Congress and other opposition groups have repeatedly accused the party of misusing agencies like the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate, and the Income Tax Department. The voices have only grown louder with the arrest of leaders like the Congress' P Chidambaram and DK Shivakumar, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Bharat Rashtra Samithi's K Kavitha and the AAP's Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh, among others.

 Justice Bhuyan, in his 31-page verdict, highlighted that in a democracy governed by the rule of law, perception is crucial, and the CBI must be seen as impartial and independent.

Writing a separate concurring judgment granting bail to the AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Justice Bhuyan questioned the timing of Kejriwal's arrest by the CBI and said it aimed to frustrate the grant of bail to him in the ED case. Justice Surya Kant did not find any illegality in the CBI arrest.

Justice Bhuyan observed that in a functional democracy governed by the rule of law, perception matters and like Caesar's wife, an investigating agency must be above board. "Not so long ago, this court had castigated the CBI comparing it to a caged parrot. CBI must dispel the notion of it being a caged parrot. Rather, the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot," Justice Bhuyan said in his 31-page concurring verdict granting bail to Kejriwal.

“CBI is a premier investigating agency of the country. It is in the public interest that CBI must not only be above board but must also be seem to be so. Rule of law, which is a basic feature of our constitutional republic, mandates that investigation must be fair, transparent and judicious. This Court has time and again emphasized that fair investigation is a fundamental right of an accused person under Articles 20 and 21 of the Constitution of India. Investigation must not only be fair but must be seem to be so. Every effort must be made to remove any perception that investigation was not carried out fairly and that the arrest was made in a highhanded and biased manner,” justice Bhuyan said in his order.  Justice Bhuyan said in a functional democracy governed by the rule of law, perception matters. “Like Caesar’s wife, an investigating agency must be above board. Not so long ago, this Court had castigated must be above board.  It is imperative that CBI dispel the notion of it being a caged parrot. Rather, the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot,” he said in his judgement.

 The CBI officially didn’t react to the SC observations. Agency sources, however, pointed out that the investigating team did not rush to arrest Kejriwal and approached court for custody only when new evidence emerged.

“The decision for custodial interrogation was taken by probe team after fresh evidence emerged from Goa about not just knowledge but also direct involvement of Kejriwal in the hawala money trail for AAP Goa election funding,” sources said.