Coalgate: Supreme Court asks govt to make CBI independent, bring law before July 10

NEW DELHI: The pain of stinging criticism from the apex court regarding coal scam probe also carries the balm of freedom and functional autonomy for CBI.

The Supreme Court (SC) has asked the government to come out with a law before July 10 to insulate CBI from "external influence and intrusion" while observing that the agency was a "caged parrot speaking in master's voice" and the situation was far worse now, 15 years after the SC judgment in the Vineet Narain case which had aimed for CBI's autonomy.

The SC observations were received with mixed feelings at CBI with two senior officials whom ET spoke to saying they only wished that the agency was now finally liberated from government interference. "Though the court has criticized CBI for not standing up to the 'pulls and pressures' of government interference in the status probe matter, the court has also faulted the government for not fixing guidelines in all these years to give CBI functional autonomy. We would welcome the government, or the SC, to do so now. We can stand up to the government only if we are independent...CBI wishes to emerge stronger from this controversy," the official said.

The court said it was a "sordid saga" that there are many masters and one parrot (CBI). Another senior CBI official ET spoke to point out that the CBI was not a constitutional authority like the CAG or the Chief Election Commission who have nothing to do with the government.