Government details steps proposed to insulate CBI from politics

The appointment of the CBI director by a collegium that includes the prime minister is among the steps the government intends to take to insulate the agency from political interference, the Supreme Court was informed Wednesday.

The collegium would include the leader of opposition in the Lok  Sabha and the chief justice of India or a judge to be nominated by him, the government said in a 41-page affidavit, adding that the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act would be amended for this.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director would have a term of not less than two years.

The proposed committee, the affidavit said, shall recommend an IPS officer to be the CBI director on the basis of seniority, integrity and experience in the investigation of anti-corruption and criminal cases.

The affidavit came in response to the apex court asking what steps the goverrnment intended to take to uphold the CBI's autonomy and to insulate it from political interference.

The apex court direction came after the CBI director admitted in April that the probe report into the allocation of coal blocks was vetted by then law minister Ashwani Kumar and officials of the Prime Minister's Office and the coal ministry.