CBI chief, CVC meet PM; want to keep off Lokpal
Express views on preserving their power and effectiveness
Heads of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday and expressed their views on preserving the powers and effectiveness of both the statutory bodies while finalising the anti-graft Lokpal Bill.
After the meeting, CBI Director A P Singh said he expressed concern regarding autonomy of the investigating agency.
According to sources in CBI, the agency is of the opinion that “while setting up the institution of Lokpal, it must be ensured that the CBI’s legal authority or its operational effectiveness is not diluted in any manner”.
The sources also said that the CBI Director raised the proposed move to make preliminary inquiry by Lokpal mandatory before referring cases to CBI, arguing that it would “severely impair” effectiveness of the agency in anti- corruption cases as it would lose the “surprise element” to carry out search operations.
Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar objected to the proposed inclusion of ‘Group C’ employees comprising clerical staff under the CVC ambit.
“The CVC directly advises action in vigilance matters related to Group A and B employees. Whereas, it supervises the proceedings by departments in matters related to employees under Group C and D. The Group C employees come under overall supervision of the Commission. The proposal to have their direct control will require more manpower and official resources.
The Commission in its present form may have difficulty in dealing with it," a source said.
Kumar is understood to have proposed to Prime Minister to widen the scope of work of the Commission. However, the Commission wants “a proper division of work between the CVC and the Lokpal. The powers of two bodies should not be made contradictory so as not to hamper probe in corruption cases,” sources said.
