In an unprecedented inquiry ordered by the Supreme Court, former CBI director Ranjit Sinha will be probed on whether he tried to thwart the case against influential individuals in the coal scam. The court has done the right thing on the basis of the available evidence, including an appointments diary listing prominent people named in the investigation who met the CBI director at his residence. While a senior officer can well meet people at home, whether he was to right to set up meetings with accused individuals is the crux.
No one considers the CBI an ideal agency, too often it is the handmaiden of top rulers, with its senior brass all too eager to please their bosses, skirting laws while indulging in questionable interrogation processes, blackmailing and other tactics. This particular director was no role model to head an agency tasked with too many sensitive probes against people of clout, often leading to a cat and mouse game involving top politicians and industrial honchos.
The need for such an agency, derided by the Supreme Court as a “caged parrot”, can be questioned as the CBI never lived up to the standards of a national investigative agency, like America’s FBI. But the case involving its ex-director shouldn’t be seen as the rule, rather an exception. An efficient national agency is required to probe the machinations of the rich and powerful. Only by proving the guilt of high offenders, if they are indeed guilty, can the CBI’s reputation be salvaged. A thorough probe is certainly needed in Ranjit Sinha’s case.
