After Rakesh Asthana was appointed the special director of the CBI on Sunday, senior Supreme Court advocate has said that his appointment shows the Centre is “hell bent on destroying independence and integrity of the CBI.”
Questioning his appointment, Bhushan said: “Rakesh Asthana's name figures in diary of Sterling Biotech, on which CBI itself has registered an FIR. In my view this is totally illegal and we will certainly challenge it,” Bhushan added.
On Sunday, Gujarat cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rakesh Asthana was appointed as the special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Reports had suggested that the CVC had denied Asthana the promotion according to the 'integrity clause', citing the ongoing CBI probe which figures his name.
Earlier in August, the CBI's Delhi Unit had registered a FIR against three senior Income Tax Commissioners for accepting bribes from the Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech and Sandesara Group of Companies. The FIR says there existed a "Diary 2011" which was found during raids on a company. According to reports, the diary also contained Asthana's name.
Bhushan on behalf of NGO Common Cause, has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the apex court seeking to quash Asthana's appointment in accordance with the Vineet Narain case.
The Common Cause in their petition said that the government did not follow rules and regulations while appointment of the CBI Director.
The petitioner alleged that the government wanted to appoint its own choice as interim CBI Director "even if it meant bypassing the statutory law, the norms of propriety, and the directions contained in the Vineet Narain's judgement".
"The judgment in Vineet Narain's case had clearly held that the tenure of CBI Director would be two years. This was to ensure that there is no ad-hocism in the appointment and functioning of the CBI Director," the petition states.
"Therefore, the petitioner submits that the government must be directed to comply with the mandate of the law and call for the meeting of the selection committee as per the DSPE Act, 1946 as amended by Lokpal Act, 2013," the petition added.
After the elevation, Asthana has become the second senior-most officer in the agency after CBI director Alok Verma.
Asthana is at present an Additional Director in the agency and is handling a number of important investigations, including Agusta Westland probe.
Apart from Asthana, the ACC has also cleared promotion of seven others 1984 batch IPS officers.
IPS officers Deepak Kumar Mishra and Sudeep Lakhtakia have been posted as Special Director General (DG) in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), while Gurbachan Singh has been elevated as Special Director in Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Meanwhile, Rajesh Ranjan and AP Maheshwari have been promoted as Special DG in the Border Security Force (BSF).
A 1984-batch IPS officer, Javeed Ahmed, who served as the Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh has been given the rank of Special DG at the Centre.
The promotion of officers was announced by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training.
With Agency Inputs
