Ishrat Jahan case: Naming of IB officials pits CBI vs Home Min

The second chargesheet filed by the CBI in connection with the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case has led to the premier investigation agency locking horns with the Home Ministry over the naming of four IB officials including special director Rajinder Kumar. A report in the Telegraph this morning said that the Home Ministry was miffed that the CBI had named the IB officials without receiving proper sanction under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Without receiving such sanction, the four officials cannot be put to trial. [caption id=“attachment_1380795” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ranjit Sinha has also been squarely in the middle of the controversy: Image courtesy PIB[/caption] However the CBI is not backing down. The Telegraph report quoted an unnamed senior CBI official as saying, “We are accountable only to the court and not to the home ministry. Our officials got clinching evidence to nail Kumar and the other three IB officials. If the home ministry wants, it can deny prosecution sanction. The matter is in the court which has the final say whether it will take cognisance of the chargesheet or not”. There has already been tension between the centre and the CBI, after the Economic Times quoted CBI director Ranjit Sinha as saying that the UPA would have been happy if then Gujarat Home Minister and close Narendra Modi aide Amit Shah had been put to trial. The interview led to sharp reactions by the Home Ministry who termed the comment ‘unfortunate’, while the BJP termed it as ‘proof’ that the government was trying to target its Prime Ministerial candidate through the CBI. Soon after however, the agency issued a press release in which it said that Sinha had been misquoted. “Queries have been received from various sections of the media regarding quote of director CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) published in a national daily today (Saturday) in connection with the investigation in an alleged encounter of Ishrat Jahan and three others,” the statement said. “It is clarified that director has been quoted unfairly and completely out of context. CBI is an impartial and an apolitical organisation. In the Ishrat Jahan case, CBI has done a fair, thorough and professional investigation to the best of its ability,” it added. The CBI also said that it had not had to face any kind of political interference while investigating the case.