New Delhi: The Gauhati High Court order striking down a 50-year old resolution for creating CBI may not affect the routine functioning of the agency but it presents an opportunity to correct the arrangement under which it was created, former CBI chiefs said.
While denying to comment on the order, former CBI Director PC Sharma asserted that the order would not have any impact on ongoing probes. "It cannot. Because investigations are done under the DSPE Act and not under CBI. CBI resolution was an administrative resolution. DSPE Act is a statutory entity under which
investigations are going on and will go on.
"It should not affect CBI's functioning as such as there are certain divisions like administrative division, Interpol, law division which were created as a result of this resolution. One has to see what the court has said about these divisions, but as far as registration of cases and submitting of final reports in cases, that should not be affected," he said.
Terming the order "absurd", former Special Director ML Sharma, who later became Central Information Commissioner, said that the order was a case of "much ado about nothing".
"High court itself says the DSPE Act is valid. Entire cases are registered under the Act. Investigations are also done under DSPE Act. Whatever has been done on registration of cases, investigation of cased are valid and remain valid.
"In fact, for legal purposes, there is no difference between DSPE and CBI. In my view, this judgement is totally absurd. It is much ado about nothing," Sharma said.
Former CBI Director Vijay Shanker said he would not like to comment on the order as he had not read it himself. He, however, added that the arrangement under which CBI was created and its working under the provisions of DPSE Act
had been a subject of discussion for a long time.
The former chief said, "Long time, when I say it is at least a decade-and-a-half minimum. After all CBI, in its own quest for functioning under an effective legal provision, has been calling for enactment of a CBI Act, the Bill for which
has gone in one form or another to the government of the day.
That process will now be expedited." Vijay Shanker said, "This particular judgement of Gauhati High Court has serious consequences and should be studied by the government and CBI for correcting the course of all that has happened in the past and which is likely to happen in the future, through the intervention of Supreme Court. This needs very serious focus of the government and CBI."
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