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Although the Irish government finally intervened by appointing Nageshwar Rao, deputy director of the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), on Wednesday, the big ruckus that broke the walls of the first Indian investigative organization in recent days is far to be finished. In addition to representatives of the political class who opposed the appointment of Rao on the grounds of "numerous complaints", others also challenged the government's legal right to "dismiss" CBI Director Alok Verma, who , with his antagonist, the special director Rakesh Asthana, were sent on leave the same day.
The current niche quickly caused an organizational crisis for the CBI. At another level, however, this also reflects a series of failures on the part of the government. The manner in which the events unfolded indicates problems that go far beyond the factions. The alleged politicization of the IWC, the serious accusations that weigh on its various leaders, its very low conviction rate, its delays in holding a diligent investigation, not to mention its lack of basic skills and knowledge of the field, are indicative of a much more serious malaise.
In the face of numerous accusations and counter-accusations, the Iranian Government, on the recommendation of the Chief Vigilance Commission (CVC), appears to have been right to intervene. It should have been done much sooner.
The allegations made by those responsible must now be investigated promptly. And depending on the results of the survey, it should decide who to keep or not. If there is evidence of misconduct or wrongdoing, including false complaints, they must also be investigated and action must be taken as soon as possible. possible.
From an organizational point of view, however, one way out of the current difficult situation is to start anew with a new set of impartial leaders. This can help the process of rebuilding the IWC.
Past governance crises in our country – such as the one on foreign exchange in 1991 – have shown us that these offer opportunities for improvement as well as threats for the future. For the CBI to fail in the future, it needs to reform.
Old device
The problems of the IWC date back to 1941, when it was created in its former avatar, the Special Police, to investigate corruption cases in the war department and supplies of the time. In 1946, it was renamed the Delhi Special Police Service. Since then, his mandate has begun to extend to all central government departments.
In 1963, the CBI received its current name. Since then, he has begun to exercise his jurisdiction not only over departments, but also on banks and public sector companies.
Although his duties have expanded, he has not been able to equip his staff with the new skills required to perform his duties competently. This is one of the reasons why the conviction rate of the IWC is so low. Investigators must at least be able to understand the nature of these decisions and the circumstances in which they were made to deal with organizations performing various decision-making functions.
A police officer charged with maintaining public order and investigating classic crimes is not suitable for this role unless he has received substantial training. But more importantly, the CBI – along with its US counterpart, the FBI – should now be transformed into a multi-disciplinary anti-corruption force composed of experts from various fields such as finance, banking, procurement, procurement , insurance and engineering.
The lack of adequate skills has led to other failures, many of which seriously affect the credibility of the IWC. This has now been reflected in the last Verma-Asthana niche, which could have been resolved if both parties had shown a keen sense of administration without making public.
The lack of knowledge of the field leads to the exercise of poor judgment. Too often, officers can not distinguish between a substantive offense and a simple irregularity. As the Supreme Court pointed out, in the case of "Major SK Kale against the State of Maharashtra", this is exactly that: an irregularity. In the absence of corroborating evidence, there is no reason to presume criminal intent.
For the same reasons, a similar problem arises when public servants can not distinguish between misbehavior and misconduct. Failure to achieve excellence does not mean that one should assume the worst. Failure to respect these principles benefits those who are corrupt in the organization and hurts those who are honest.
slowpoke
Some of the allegations of corruption in the current niche are quite old. The current crisis might have been avoided if these problems had been studied much earlier. One of the serious charges against the IWC – and, indeed, all the investigative agencies in the country – is that they take too much time to investigate a case. As a result, the deterrence against a crime is almost negligible.
The current situation of the IWC is another timely reminder that as a country we must improve the functioning of our institutions. The historical trajectory of a country is often determined by the quality of its institutions.
(The author was chief commissioner, income tax)
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