Government has no say in CBI functioning: Joginder Singh

The 11-month tenure of Joginder Singh, who was shunted from the Central Bureau of Investigation to the home ministry last fortnight, was tumultuous.

Hand-picked by then United Front prime minister H D Deve Gowda to head the CBI, the 1961 batch IPS officer from the Karnataka cadre was under constant attack from the politicians, the judiciary, the executive and the media.

Within a fortnight of assuming charge as CBI director, Singh was pulled up by the Supreme Court bench monitoring the hawala investigation. The judges took strong exception to Singh's hobnobbing with politicians involved in various cases.

The high point of Singh's tenure came in Berne on January 21 when he received secret Swiss bank documents relating to the Rs 650 million Bofors pay-offs.

Following his transfer, Singh has proceeded on leave amidst speculation that he would not take up his new job. Excerpts from an exclusive interview with Vibha Chhabra on CNBC's Inside India.

Your sudden removal as CBI chief has come as a surprise? What is your reaction?

Well, I take life as it comes. I never make a fuss about anything that happens to me. I'm not surprised by anything. ''Expecting the unexpected'' is the best thing in life. So I should be prepared for that.

Did you have any indication that you were going to be transferred?

I came to know of it only at 4 am on July 1, when I landed at the (Indira Gandhi international) airport (after attending an Interpol meeting). Some media people were waiting and they asked, ''How do you react to the transfer?'' ''What transfer?'' I said. ''Your transfer,'' they said. ''No reaction,'' I said. That's all. It is the prerogative of the government to post me wherever it wants.

Is this usually how a CBI chief is transferred?

(It is) not correct for me to comment on such things under government rules which say: you must carry out your job as it is given to you; you shall not criticise the government.

Your transfer comes in the midst of many cases which are being presently investigated by the CBI. The CBI is prosecuting Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav in a Rs 9.5 billion corruption case. Do you believe your transfer at this moment is politically inspired?

No, it's the prerogative of the government to remove anybody at any time. I really can't comment on that... and the case is in the high court. It would not be correct for me to make any comment outside the court....

According to certain media reports, your successor R C Sharma reportedly said that the arrest of politicians and bureaucrats would be made an exception rather than a rule. What kind of message is being sent to the public?

In my 36-year government service, I have never commented on my successors or predecessors as everybody has his own working style. And as long as it yields results any method should do.

The media has it that you had already okayed Laloo Yadav's arrest....

What progress the CBI makes, it's for the courts to judge. Of course, the CBI director is responsible.... The courts are monitoring the progress, and the Supreme Court is responsible for it through a fair, honest, thorough and impartial investigation.

Do you believe that will happen?

The court has to ensure it happens. They guide the CBI from time to time. And I assure you that Indian courts are quite vigilant.

There is speculation that your case is not an isolated one, that it's part of a grand design.

Well, I cannot comment on that. I have to take whatever.... But after my retirement, my memoirs will be published, and you will find it quite interesting. I have already been offered 100,000 pounds for my memoirs. But I would settle for $ 1 million.

The CBI has been called a lapdog of the politicians. And then you came, turning it into a watchdog. Now tell us what will happen to this watchdog in cases that are presently under investigation?

Let me make one thing very clear. So far as the CBI is concerned, it functions under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. What the CBI does is a matter of the CBI or the DSPEA and the courts. That does not include the government which has no say in its functioning. This has been the legal system, introduced in 1861.

The government's nod is necessary when you intend to prosecute someone.... I strictly followed the rules of the land. I never did something new... and never introduced new things. No new laws were passed.

For your information, last year, the Supreme Court directed the high courts to give 202 cases to the CBI.... The CBI is responsible for whatever is happening in the country.

Courtesy: NBC ASIA

EARLIER STORY:
Joginder Singh proceeds on leave, may not take up new job

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