Toeing the line taken by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Minister of State for Personnel and the nodal minister for CBI, V Narayanasamy today said that a decision taken in good faith did not constitute a crime and official policy should not be questioned.
Speaking at the valedictory session of the three-day conference organised here as part of CBI's Golden Jubilee celebrations, Narayanasamy said that if there was no criminal intent behind a decision, it should not be taken to constitute criminal misconduct. "I would go one step further and say that a decision taken by the executive in good faith will not constitute a crime.
"If an officer of the government takes a decision in the interest of the nation, in good faith, we have to see the decision taken as being a bona fide one and therefore it does not constitute crime," he said. "The decision is taken by the government under the prevailing situation... When there was no mens rea, there was no criminal intent, it cannot be considered a crime," the Minister added.
He said that although the CAG had recommended auction of natural resources, one could not auction off water and air which, too, were natural resources. Talking about CBI, he said the government was ready to give the agency more powers insofar as its working was concerned. Earlier, at the function, Narayanasamy handed out PoliceMedals for Meritorious Service to CBI officers, including DIGs Binita Thakur, Arun Bothra, R Hitendra, Sanjay Singh and to DSP Rajesh Chahal, who was part of the team probing the 2G scam, among others.
Talking about the awarding of coal blocks, Narayanasamy said that the government was mindful of the costs of power generation while devising its policy in that regard. "As far as coal is concerned, a policy was there to allot coal blocks on priority basis to those fulfilling the eligibility criteria. We put a condition that you should give electricity at the minimum rates," he said.
As to the investigative functions of CBI, the Minister stressed on the need for hiring experts from different fields, saying that not all of the agency's officers were able to fully understand the technical aspect of a crime. He also cautioned CBI officers about the media, noting that public opinion was formed by the media before a probe could even be completed.
"People go by the print and electronic media. They don't see the process of law, they don't see the process of investigation. Therefore, when an honest and upright officer is prosecuted, the reputation is lost which can never be recovered," he said. Other officers who were handed medals by Narayanasamy included Additional SP S Jaikumar, DSP Diptendu Bhattacharya, Inspectors Jagdish Prasad, Shailendra Pratap Singh, RK Jain, BB Tiwari, Sub-Inspectors lN Murthy, CV Pujari, Additional SI SPB Kharkongor and Head Constables Kusum Pal Singh and M Chandrasekhar.