India removes top investigative officials in fighter jet deal
Alok Kumar Verma and Rakesh Asthana relieved of their roles in midnight drama
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government took the rare step of removing the director of the country’s top federal law enforcement agency and one of his deputies over “grave allegations of corruption”.
Alok Kumar Verma, director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, or CBI, and Rakesh Asthana, a special director at the agency, were relieved of their roles in a midnight drama, with both men accusing each other of corruption.
A government appointment committee headed by Modi put out an order around 2am Wednesday, with CBI official M. Nageshwar Rao named as the interim director.
India’s Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), an autonomous anti-corruption body, had recommended the removal of Verma and Asthana on Tuesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a news conference Wednesday, calling it a “bizarre and unfortunate” situation.
The administration said it acted given the “extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances”, including Verma failing to furnish documents in an investigation being conducted by the CVC, which oversees the CBI.
The CVC said Verma had been “non-cooperative” and had created “wilful obstructions in the functioning of the Commission”.
A feud between Verma and Ashthana had been simmering since mid-2017, when Asthana was promoted to the agency’s second-highest post. Under Verma, the CBI filed a case against Asthana on allegations that he took bribes from a meat exporter the agency was investigating for money laundering. On Monday, the agency arrested its deputy superintendent of police — the lead in the money-laundering investigation — on forgery charges related to the allegations against Asthana. On Tuesday, Asthana asked the Delhi High Court to quash the case against him.
"Habitual and perpetual misuse of CBI by Modi government and BJP to tamper fair investigation of serious criminal cases is the reason for this unfathomable mess."
— Randeep Surjewala | Congress spokesperson
Verma, who cannot be removed from office as he has a mandated two-year term that ends in December, contested his removal at the Supreme Court of India. A three-judge panel headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi agreed to an early hearing of his case on Friday. In his petition, Verma said his removal strikes at the independence of CBI and the decision came so that “certain investigations into high functionaries” did not take a direction that was unsuitable to the government.
“Not all influence that is exerted by the political government would be found explicitly or in writing. More often than not it is tacit and requires considerable courage to withstand,” says the petition. Verma also promised to provide details of “many cases that have led to the present circumstances”.
"I regard this charge as rubbish. The fact that opposition parties are saying we know what agency was going to do next itself casts a doubt on the fairness process."
— Arun Jaitley | Finance Minister
Opposition parties led by Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, lashed out at the government’s intervention amid speculation that the ousted CBI director was planning to order an investigation into India’s controversial purchase in 2015 of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France. Earlier this month, Verma personally met Arun Shourie, Prashant Bhushan and Yashwant Sinha, all fierce critics of the Modi government, when they filed a complaint about corruption in the Rafale deal. The three filed a petition in Supreme Court yesterday, urging an independent and thorough investigation into the Rafale deal.
"Under which law did the Modi government get the authority to initiate action against the chief of an investigating agency appointed as per the Lokpal Act?"
— Arvind Kejriwal | Delhi Chief Minister
Gandhi said by sending Verma on a “forced leave” for collecting sensitive documents on the Rafale scam, Modi has given a clear message that anyone coming around the defence deal will be “wiped out”.
Jaitley, however, dismissed the charges as “rubbish” and said the decision to remove the CBI director was done to ensure fair play in investigations into bribery allegations levelled in the war between him and Asthana.
"The illegal removal of CBI chief by the Modi government … points to attempts at a serious cover-up to protect his direct links to the BJP’s top political leadership."
— Sitaram Yechury | CPM leader
On a day of fast-moving developments, interim director Nageswara Rao transferred as many as 13 officers of the agency, perceived to be close to Verma. The CBI also re-constituted the team probing the case against Asthana, and a few officers close to him were reinstated, while those close to Verma were summarily transferred to other parts of India. AK Bassi, the man leading the investigation team against Asthana, was transferred to Port Blair “in public interest,” while four other team members were also transferred. The team was investigating six cases of corruption and bribery charges against Asthana — who is known for his proximity to Modi and India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah.
Explaining the high voltage CBI drama:
What is the CBI?
The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) is India’s main national investigative agency — the equivalent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation — and has a broad remit to pursue high-profile criminal cases, particularly those of national importance or ones deemed too sensitive for ordinary police. The CBI probes murder, corruption, bribery, fraud and other economic offences, and was the main agency investigating India’s biggest bank fraud, an alleged $2 billion scam involving top jewellers. Operating under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the New Delhi-headquartered CBI is headed by the Director.
How is the CBI Director appointed and removed?
Before the Lokpal Act was passed, the CBI director was appointed by the federal government on the basis of procedure laid down in Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. Currently, the CBI director is selected by a collegium comprising the Indian Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and Leader of Opposition. This process of appointment ensures functional autonomy of the CBI. The director is selected from a list of eligible Indian Police Service officers, made on the basis of seniority and experience in probe matters and is presented to the committee, which then recommends the name to be appointed as CBI chief.
What is the court’s directive in this regard?
In Vineet Narain judgement, the Indian Supreme Court had fixed the tenure of CBI Director to be a minimum of two years so that the officer could work with independence. The apex court also said the director can be transferred only in “extraordinary” circumstances with the approval of selection committee.
What is the Central Vigilance Commission? What is its role in the case?
The Central Vigilance Commission is an apex anti-corruption body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption. In 2003, Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC. It has the status of an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority. The CBI works under the guidance of CVC when any matter is related to public corruption, but the CVC does not any oversight on CBI appointments. However, in this case, Verma and Asthana were removed on the recommendation of Central Vigilance Commissioner.
What is the origin of the crisis? What is the fallout?
The turf war between ousted CBI director Alok Verma and special director Rakesh Asthana traces its origins to mid-2017, when the government refused to appoint some IPS officers in CBI despite recommendations from Verma. In October 2017, Verma handed over a note to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) against the promotion of Asthana to the post of special director — alleging corruption on his part with regard to Sterling Biotech in Gujarat. But a CVC panel cleared Asthana’s promotion, disregarding Verma’s submissions.
This year, the CBI again named Asthana in a bribery case — this time related to businessman Sathish Sana, whose name emerged during investigations in the ongoing case of controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi. CBI’s First Information Report (FIR) against Asthana is based on the claims of Sana, who admitted that he was asked to pay an overall bribe of Rs50 million to Asthana to get rid of the case. However, in August, Asthana alleged that it was CBI chief Verma who took the bribe of Rs20 million from Sana. He complained to CVC accusing Verma of trying to interfere in a corruption case involving family members of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. Both Verma and Asthana were removed from their positions on Wednesday.
Profile: Alok Verma
Alok Verma is an officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS) with over 35 years of experience in policing and vigilance. Before his appointment as Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the highest executive position in the premier investigation agency, he was the Commissioner of Delhi Police.
His appointment at CBI was his 24th posting as a police officer. Prior to that, he headed vigilance department of Delhi Police in the capacity of special commissioner. Prior to that, Verma headed several other organisations.
He served as Director General of Police in Mizoram and Puducherry, Inspector General of Police in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Director General for Delhi’s Tihar jail.
Profile: Rakesh Asthana
Rakesh Asthana is known mainly for his role in investigating the fodder scam of the nineties, that involved embezzlement of about Rs 9.4 billion from Bihar state treasury by then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.
In 2002, when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat, Asthana was asked to head the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe Sabarmati Express train tragedy.
It was Asthana who declared that the fire on train at Godhrawas a pre-meditated conspiracy, thus supporting the stand taken by the Modi government.