Sansad TV Perspective: New Law for CBI

In the series Sansad TV Perspective, we bring you an analysis of the discussion featured on the insightful programme ‘Perspective’ on Sansad TV, on various important topics affecting India and also the world. This analysis will help you immensely for the IAS exam, especially the mains exam, where a well-rounded understanding of topics is a prerequisite for writing answers that fetch good marks.

In this article, we feature the discussion on the topic: ‘New Law for CBI’.

Anchor:  Vishal Dahiya

Participants: 

1. M L Sharma, Former Special Director, CBI
2. Dr. Vikram Singh, Former DGP, Uttar Pradesh
3. Satya Prakash, Legal Editor, The Tribune

Context: Parliamentary panel on new CBI Law.

Highlights of the discussion: 

1. Introduction
2. Issues faced by the CBI
3. Key Recommendations
4. Limitations of DSPE Act 
5. Way Forward

Introduction: 

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice has recommended a new law to govern the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
• The committee recognising limitations in the current act has advised for a new law.
• The committee also made various recommendations regarding vacancies and establishing transparency in its operations.

Issues faced by the CBI:

• Political Interference: Opposition parties feel that the agency is often used as a tool by the ruling party to settle scores or to protect their interests. This has resulted in a loss of public trust in the CBI and has compromised its independence.
• Lack of Resources: The agency is often stretched thin, with too few investigators and too little funding to carry out its mandate effectively. This has led to a backlog of cases, delays in investigations, and compromised outcomes.
  • 1,709 posts are vacant in the CBI against its sanctioned strength of 7,295.
• Issues with Deputations: While the CBI regularly employs officers from state police forces to assist with investigations, this practice has been criticised for several reasons.
  • Deputation of officers from state police forces to the CBI might result in a lack of continuity in investigations which can lead to delays and a loss of institutional memory.
  • State governments may be reluctant to send their best officers to the CBI. This can result in the CBI being staffed with lower-quality officers, which can compromise the quality of its investigations.
• Corruption: The agency’s reputation has been severely tarnished by allegations of bribery, extortion, and other corrupt practices. This has eroded public trust in the agency and compromised its ability to carry out its mandate effectively.
• Structural constraints: Both the legal structure and the changes made in the Rules governing CBI have hindered the functioning of the CBI.
• Opaqueness: Another issue that the CBI faces is a lack of transparency and accountability. The agency is often accused of being opaque in its operations.
• • This lack of transparency makes it difficult for the public to hold the agency accountable for its actions.

Key Recommendations: 

• The Committee has recommended that there is a need to enact a new law and define the status, functions and powers of the CBI and also lay down safeguards to ensure objectivity and impartiality in its functioning. 
• Highlighting the withdrawal of general consent for the CBI probe by many states, the parliamentary committee in its report has said that the existing law – Delhi Special Police Establishment Act governing the federal probe agency has many limitations. 
• The Parliamentary panel also said that every effort should be made to fill up vacancies in CBI at the earliest. 
  • The CBI director should monitor the progress in this regard on a quarterly basis.
  • Reduce dependence on deputations and strive to recruit permanent staff in the ranks of inspector of police and DSP.
• The committee also recommended the CBI publish case statistics and annual reports on its website.
• Details of cases should be made available in the public domain to empower the citizens. This  makes the functioning of CBI more accountable, responsible, efficient and transparent.
  • For this, a case management system which would be a centralised database should be considered.

Limitations of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act: 

• The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946 is the primary legislation that governs the functioning of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). 
• One of the main limitations of the DSPE Act is that it restricts the jurisdiction of the CBI to specific types of cases. 
  • The Act only allows the CBI to investigate cases that are referred to it by the central government or the state government with the approval of the central government. This limits the agency’s ability to investigate cases independently and can result in delays in the investigation of cases.
• Another limitation of the DSPE Act is that it does not provide the CBI with adequate financial autonomy.
  • The agency is dependent on the central government for funding, which can result in delays in the release of funds and affect the agency’s ability to carry out its operations effectively.
• The Act also does not provide the CBI with the power to prosecute offenders directly. Instead, the agency has to rely on state governments or the central government to initiate prosecution proceedings. This can lead to delays and can result in the loss of valuable evidence.
• The DSPE Act does not provide the CBI with adequate powers to investigate cases that involve public officials.
  • In many cases, the agency has to rely on state governments to grant permission to investigate such cases.

Way Forward:

• A new law to govern CBI with better-defined duties and powers could be framed in line with the NIA Act.
• The CBI can be made independent of political influence by making the CBI director’s appointment and removal process more transparent and insulated from political interference. 
• The CBI should also be given greater financial autonomy to reduce its dependence on the government.
• Government should increase the agency’s budget to ensure it has the necessary resources to conduct thorough investigations. The agency should also be given greater autonomy to hire and train investigators and support staff as needed.
• The CBI needs to take strong action against corrupt officials by setting up a robust internal anti-corruption mechanism to identify and weed out corrupt officials. 
• The agency should also work closely with other law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute corruption cases involving its own officials.
• CBI could establish a more robust system for the deputation of officers from state police forces. This can include setting up a dedicated team to manage the deputation process and ensuring that officers are only transferred to the CBI for a set period. 
  • The agency should also work closely with state governments to ensure that the deputation process is transparent and free from political interference.
• Bringing the CBI under the Right To Information (RTI) Act can certainly improve transparency in the agency’s functioning. It can help to promote greater accountability and curb political interference in the agency’s operations.

Read all the previous Sansad TV Perspective articles in the link.

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