Supreme Court reestablishes Alok Verma as CBI Director, limits him from taking policy decisions

New Delhi, Jan 8 The Supreme Court on Tuesday reestablished CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma, putting aside the Centre's choice to strip him of his forces, however limited him from taking any real strategy choice till the CVC probe into corruption charges against him is over.

The apex court said any further decision against Verma, who was sent on leave following the Centre's October 23 choice and resigns on January 31, would be taken by the high-powered committee which selects and appoints the CBI director.

The selection committee comprises the prime minister, the leader of opposition and the chief justice of India.

The top court said the high powered committee will take its decision on the basis of the findings of the Central Vigilance Commission inquiry. It said the gathering of the board of trustees ought to be met inside seven days.

The judgement was penned by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. However, the CJI didn't go to court and it was pronounced by Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph.

The apex court also aside the Centre's decision to appoint senior IPS officer M Nageswara Rao, who was joint director, as the agency's interim chief.

With the verdict, the apex court has set aside the Centre's October 23 choice stripping Verma as CBI chief and sending him on leave.

Verma's two-year tenure as CBI Director ends on January 31. He has moved the best court testing the Centre's decision.

Verma looked for subduing of three requests of October 23, 2018 - one by the CVC and two by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) - as being without jurisdiction and in violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

Rao, a 1986 batch Odisha-cadre IPS officer, was given the charge of break head of the test organization.

The Centre took the choice to send Verma and CBI's Special Director Rakesh Asthana on leave after their fight wind up open. The top two charged each other of corruption.

The Centre said Verma and Asthana were battling like "Kilkenny cats", exposing the country's premier investigating agency to "public ridicule".

Challenging the government's decision, Verma's counsel and senior advocate Fali S Nariman argued that the CBI director was appointed on February 1, 2017 and "the situation of law is that there will be a fixed tenure of two years and this man of honor can't be even transferred".

Nariman said there was no basis for the CVC to pass an order recommending that Verma be sent on leave.