JOIN USChief Justice of India N V Ramana’s comments on the Central Bureau of Investigation may be taken as an updated version of the view expressed by the Supreme Court in 2013 that the agency is a “caged parrot’’. The CJI was not speaking from the bench but was giving a talk on the role and responsibilities of investigative agencies in a democracy. He said the CBI had come under public scrutiny over time and its actions have raised many questions. He wants the agency to reclaim its public legitimacy and trust. For this, he said, the first step is to break the nexus with the political executive. He also said that institutions, including the police and the investigative bodies, should not allow any authoritarian tendencies to creep in and should function within the democratic framework. Any deviation will hurt them and will weaken our democracy. He has proposed the creation of an independent umbrella institution for the investigating agencies to bring various agencies like the CBI and the ED under one roof.
The CJI has spelt out, in greater detail than the 2013 bench, what ails the CBI and the entire police and investigative machinery. In doing so, he has reflected the views of the wider society. He listed some of those ills such as corruption, excesses, lack of impartiality, and a close nexus with the political class. Other issues, such as lack of infrastructure, manpower and modern equipment, maybe there but the main problem is the political nexus and the control politics has on the police. This is known to everyone and accepted by all, except those who are in power and who benefit from such control. Unfortunately, governments and parties do not realise the damage they do to our democracy when they seek to benefit from such control. That is what the CJI meant by the imperative to not allow authoritarian tendencies to creep in.
It is doubtful whether the CJI’s proposal for the creation of an independent umbrella institution will be discussed or taken seriously by those in power. It is not because of a lack of sane ideas and proposals that the CBI and the police are in their present straits. The government would only want the present situation to continue. That is clear from the remark of Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju that the CBI was no longer a "caged parrot" but was “truly performing its duty” as the country’s top crime investigating agency, in a bid to push back against the CJI. Governments have used the police, especially probe agencies, as their striking arm, and the present government has done it more extensively and with a greater sense of purpose than others in the past. The CJI’s comments are unlikely to make a difference to it.