The Centre may have gone ahead and promoted CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana as Special Director despite the objection by agency’s director and the CVC Selection Committee, but the issue is far from settled.
Noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Monday said he would challenge the promotion order in the Supreme Court citing gross violation of the CVC Act and various SC judgements guiding appointments in the CBI.
The Pioneer has learnt that CBI Director Alok Verma objected to the move to promote Asthana in the Saturday’s CVC Selection Committee meeting. In a two-page note, Verma referred to the fact that Asthana’s name has figured in an ongoing corruption probe by the agency.
The CVC Selection Committee meeting was chaired by CVC KV Chowdary and attened by two Vigilance Commissioners as well as Secretaries of Home and DoPT, besides the CBI Director. The meeting had only two agendas. Apart from Asthana’s promotion, the other item was the posting of five Joint Directors in the CBI. After the CBI Director put on record his objection and provided a sealed cover on the status of the ongoing probe involving Asthana, the panel did not take up the second agenda for consideration.
According to highly placed sources, some members of the meeting too objected to the fact that the meeting was called on a few hours notice on such sensitive appointments.
Though the CVC officials had told the media that the meeting would resume on Monday, it was shelved as the CBI Director is reported to have expressed his displeasure that the names of these five Joint Directors did not originate from the organisation.
As per the CVC Act and the landmark Vineet Narain Judgment, the CVC Selection Committee is mandated to consider the CBI Director’s observations. Promotion, transfer and repatriation and dismissal of every officer from Superintendent and above in CBI and ED have to be decided by the Selection Committee as per the CVC Act.
The CBI’s recent FIR against the three Principal Commissioners of Income Tax and Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech and Sandesara Group of companies has come as major embarrassment for Asthana.
The FIR talked of a “Diary 2011”, which was seized from the companies with numerous entries of payouts made to senior I-T, police officers, bureaucrats and politicians. The CBI Director said the diary also includes the name of Asthana in connection with certain payments from the companies.
“The dairy shows that Asthana received crores of rupees as bribes in cash from Sterling Biotech. At that time, Asthana was Commissioner of Police in Surat,” said Bhushan, blaming the Prime Minister for late night decision to promote Asthana.
The ACC Order on Sunday was a general Order to elevate eight 1984 batch officers in various organisations including Asthana. The ACC (Appointments Committee of Cabinet) comprises only two members - Prime Minister and Home Minister.
Earlier in a similar situation, the UPA Government in early 2014, appointed Archana Ramasundaram as Additional Director in the CBI, ignoring the objections by the CVC. Within days activist Vineet Narain approached the Supreme Court, which annulled the order and removed her from the CBI.