A parliamentary panel has recommended legislation to allow the CBI to probe matters of “national security and integrity” without requiring consent from state governments, as part of reforms that are likely to be politically controversial.
Another of the House committee’s suggestions is to allow lateral entry to the central agency for specialists, a measure likely to attract accusations of trying to bypass reservations.
A third key proposal is for the CBI — which now functions solely with personnel sent by the states on temporary deputation — to raise its own cadre through national recruitment agencies.
The recommendations come from the parliamentary standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice, headed by BJP Rajya Sabha member Brij Lal, whose report was tabled in Parliament on Thursday.
The proposal to allow the CBI to bypass state governments comes at a time when eight states have withdrawn their “general consent” for CBI investigations, meaning the agency must seek consent separately to probe each case within any of these states’ areas of jurisdiction.
Except for Meghalaya, the other seven among these states — Bengal, Karnataka, Punjab, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana and Tamil Nadu — are ruled by non-NDA parties. Most of the withdrawals of general consent came after the Narendra Modi government assumed power in 2014.
The CBI has been probing several cases involving Opposition politicians, amid allegations that the Centre is misusing its probe agencies to intimidate or malign its critics and political opponents.
However, these withdrawals of general consent have severely handicapped the CBI in investigating corruption and organised crime, the House panel report says.
It says the panel “feels a separate/ new law granting CBI wider investigative powers without state consent for cases affecting national security and integrity may be enacted by taking views also from state governments”.
It adds that the new law should include safeguards to ensure impartiality and avert any feeling of powerlessness among the state governments.
Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, under which the CBI now functions, requires the agency to seek consent from state governments to conduct investigations in their areas of jurisdiction.
Lateral entry
The CBI should “introduce lateral entry for specialists in cyber crime, forensics, financial fraud, and legal domains”, the panel has said, venturing into a domain that has been a no-go for the Opposition.
The Centre had last year been forced to ask the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to withdraw advertisements for lateral recruitment to 45 senior posts in various ministries after the Opposition alleged a ploy to bypass reservations.
The advertisements had invited resistance from not just the Opposition but also key NDA allies such as the Lok Janshakti Party and the Janata Dal United.
Direct recruitment
The House panel has recommended direct recruitment to core ranks, such as deputy superintendents of police, inspectors and sub-inspectors, through the Staff Selection Commission, Union Public Service Commission or a dedicated CBI exam.
It says the deputation system has left the agency short-staffed, the reasons including manpower shortages in the state police forces themselves and the “lack of incentives” for state officers to seek deputation to the CBI.
Another problem is the “administrative bottlenecks in processing nominations” that “delay appointments”.
To get past these hurdles, the panel has recommended a permanent cadre with structured career progression, and an in-house expert team to decrease reliance on outside experts.
“Deputation may be retained only for select senior positions requiring diverse experience, but streamlining recruitment procedure and reforms will help CBI in enhancing operational efficiency and investigative capabilities,” the report says.
Transparency
The panel has advocated greater transparency in the CBI’s functioning, asking that case statistics and the annual report be published on the agency website.
“The centralised case management should allow public access to non-sensitive case details which will enhance accountability, efficiency, and trust in operations of CBI,” the report says.
Such proactive disclosure of information will empower citizens while ensuring responsible governance, the panel has argued.
The CBI comes under the department of personnel and training, which reports to the Prime Minister’s Office.