Solicitor general Tushar Mehta's response came after the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, on Wednesday, asked what prompted the government to take an overnight decision, on October 23, to divest CBI director Alok Verma of his powers, following the feud with his deputy
New Delhi: Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, on Thursday, answering Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi’s questions about the CBI director Alok Verma’s sudden ousting, said the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had come to the conclusion that an extraordinary situation had arisen and it needed extraordinary remedies.
The response came after the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, on Wednesday, asked what prompted the government to take an overnight decision, on October 23, to divest CBI director Alok Verma of his powers, following the feud with his deputy. He also pointed out that both the top officers were at loggerheads for quite some time and Verman was retiring in few months.
“This situation that prompted the Central Vigilance Commission to take the action did not happen overnight... It is not that you were forced to take a decision immediately,” Gogoi observed.
Mehta told the apex court that “an extraordinary situation arose and CVC order was passed impartially.” He also said that both the senior officers were investigating cases against each other, instead of probing serious cases and, at this point, CVC's inaction would have been a dereliction of duty.
On November 30, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that the CVC acted beyond its power while passing orders against Verma.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing Kharge told the apex court that the CVC and the government cannot disregard DSPE provisions, which makes it mandatory to consult the selection committee before transferring the CBI chief mid-tenure.
Currently, the Supreme Court is hearing a petition by CBI Director Alok Verma challenging the Centre’s order of divesting him of all responsibilities.
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