CBI chief Ranjit Sinha’s crisis is self-made
Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ranjit Sinha must either come clean on the controversy that surrounds the visit to his official residence of people being probed by his agency over various scams, or quit. It is not just his reputation which is at stake; the prestige of the organisation to which he heads too has taken a hard knock as a result of his indiscretion. It may be argued that the clouds of suspicion hovering over the CBI are not a novelty, since the agency has often been criticised for wrongdoing — the apex court had only months ago remarked that the agency was a “caged parrot”. But the recent controversy is too serious to be brushed aside with the kind of facile explanations that the Director has been offering, because it directly reflects on his personal conduct. Mr Sinha has accepted (though initially he didn't) that he has met a host of people in the past few months — people who are being investigated by the CBI in the coal block allocation and the 2G Spectrum licence scams, but he has defended the meeting by claiming that the rendezvous did not result in his giving any “favour” to the tainted persons. We do not know about that, since it needs a deeper investigation. Regardless, the fact is that Mr Sinha ought not to have met people who represent firms that are being inquired into, and that too by his very own agency. The meetings have sent out an entirely avoidable message and muddied the already murky waters. Since the matter is before the Supreme Court, the CBI Director has taken the plea that he will abide by the apex court's directive in the matter. That is a technical explanation, and it does not throw light on precisely why Mr Sinha condescended to meet the tainted persons in the first place. His argument that he could not turn away people from his residence holds no merit. As CBI Director, he should have been extremely cautious in such matters. By his logic, judges too can begin interacting with the accused in their official residences on a one-on-one basis! There will be no end to such impropriety. Mr Sinha says his conscience is clear, but it is difficult to believe, going by the material at hand.
Mr Sinha has claimed that the ‘visitors' diary' maintained at his residence, which recorded the people who came and met him there — some with startlingly high frequency — had been created without his knowledge. He has even decided to file a case of perjury against advocate Prashant Bhushan who has brought the matter before the apex court, on the ground that Mr Bhushan's allegations are based on malice and deliberate falsehood. The CBI chief has the right to take whatever legal action he deems necessary to redeem his reputation. But he would be on a weak wicket once the diary entries become part of the affidavit before the court. The court in its last hearing had said it would take cognisance of the entries once they formed part of the affidavit that will come up before the judges hearing the case. Mr Sinha must not wait for a nudge from the Union Government or the Supreme Court to put in his papers. After all, what can be worse than a situation where he is either directed to resign or is sackedIJ Since his tenure ends in a couple of months' time, he will do well to contemplate on what is the most honourable course he is left with to take.