Anti-graft crusader says PMO bypassing CVC to appoint CBI addl director

Vineet Narain, one of India’s original anti-corruption crusaders starting with the Jain hawala diaries case of the 1990s, has alleged that the Prime Minister’s Office is about to appoint an additional director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) without the concurrence of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) -  a basic requirement under the law.[caption id=“attachment_1379129” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing the 18th Biennial Conference of CBI and State Anti-Corruption Bureaux, in New Delhi on 21 October 2011. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] In an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Narain has charged that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under him has recommended “the name of one Ms Archana Ramasundaram, IPS, for the post of Additional Director, CBI” for his approval. According to the CVC Act, the Central government “shall” act on the recommendations of the CVC and Narain says it is the job of the CVC “to verify the integrity and probity of the officers and no other department is authorised to do so”. The letter goes on to point out that the “CVC is the only legally authorised institution set up under the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court (Vineet Narain Case) to select officers of the rank of SP and above in the CBI. By not having the selection of Ms Archana Ramasundaram through the CVC would be grossly illegal (sic).” The UPA government has already been wrong-footed when it appointed PJ Thomas as CVC in 2011 despite the objections of the Leader of the Opposition, Sushma Swaraj. The case went to the Supreme Court and the appointment was struck down. Vineet Narain’s letter also takes pot-shots at Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for reposing too much trust in strong laws like the Jan Lokpal Bill, saying that “we cannot combat corruption only by enacting laws and creating new institutions”. Kejriwal  and some of the founders of AAP were co-petitioners with Vineet Narain in the public interest litigation filed in the Jain hawala case, where LK Advani was one of the initial set of accused. The case against Advani was later dropped for want of evidence.