As the government braces for the crucial Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday, where CBI Director Alok Verma has challenged his externment, the premier probe agency is keeping its fingers crossed on whether it will get a new boss soon.
Sources indicated that the government does not want to waste any time in appointing a full-time director as crucial cases like Augusta Westland have picked up steam as a Dubai court ordered the extradition of British national and the alleged middleman, Christian Michel.
While the ministry of external affairs has not confirmed any development yet, probe agencies like the CBI and Enforcement Directorate are preparing ground for an early extradition of Michel.
In criminal matters which are time bound, the interim Director Nageshwar Rao is the deciding authority for now. But Rao is not a director general rank officer yet and that makes him too junior to hold the post.
“There is a need to have a senior officer as the director to take major decisions. The Nirav Modi case and Augusta Westland bribery case are at crucial stages of investigation. Important decisions like filing of charge-sheets in crucial cases needs to be taken,” said a senior officer.
Sources in the government said they are hopeful that the apex court will examine the facts of Verma’s case and decide on whether he needs to be reinstated or not. In case Verma does not return to the CBI, the government will be scouting for a new chief. The names of National Investigation Agency (NIA) Director Y.C. Modi, DG BSF R.K. Mishra and DG CISF Rajesh Ranjan are already doing the rounds for the new director of CBI.
Sources indicated that the process of appointing a new chief will itself take at least two weeks time. The government will need to draw up a panel of names which will then be vetted by an empowered committee of the prime minister, the leader of opposition and the chief justice of India.
Another possibility, sources indicated, was that the Supreme Court may set a deadline for the government to appoint a new director in case Verma’s case is ordered for further examination.
Among all the possibilities and probabilities, the CBI sleuths, who are also liasoning with foreign agencies and Interpol in several crucial cases, feel that a full-time director is the need of the hour.
The department of personnel and training, which is the administrative body of the CBI, has already clarified that there is no move either to place a senior IAS officer in supervisory role or to appoint an Officer on Special Duty of DG rank to handle the affairs of the CBI. A former CBI director said in this scenario the only option before the government is to wait and watch as the Supreme Court takes up the matter on Wednesday.