The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating
agency
Agency may refer to:
Organizations
* Institution, governmental or others
** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients
** Employment agency, a business that ...
of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
.
It operates under the jurisdiction of the
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is a ministry of the Government of India in personnel matters specially issues concerning recruitment, training, career development, staff welfare as well as the post-retirement dispensat ...
. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmental corruption, in 1965 it received expanded jurisdiction to investigate breaches of central laws enforceable by the
Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
, multi-state organised crime, multi-agency or international cases.
The agency has been known to investigate several economic crimes, special crimes, cases of corruption and other cases.
CBI is exempted from the provisions of the
Right to Information Act
The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of RTI Act, a ...
.
CBI is India's officially designated
single point of contact for liaison with the
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...
.
The CBI headquarter is located in CGO Complex, near
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...
.
History
Special Police Establishment
The Bureau of Investigation traces its origins to the Special Police Establishment (SPE), a Central Government Police force, which was set up in 1941 by the Government of India to investigate bribery and corruption in transactions with the War and Supply Department of India.
It had its headquarters in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
. The Superintendent of the SPE was
Qurban Ali Khan
Qurban Ali Khan ( ur, قربان علی خان) was a former governor of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan. He remained chief commissioner of Balochistan from 13 February 1953 to 8 November 1954.
References
Governors of Khyber Pak ...
, who later opted for Pakistan during the
Partition of India. The first legal adviser of the War Department was
Rai Sahib Karam Chand Jain. After the end of the war, there was a continued need for a central governmental agency to investigate bribery and corruption by central-government employees. Sahib Karam Chand Jain remained its legal advisor when the department was transferred to the Home Department by the 1946 Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.
This is DSPE's scope was enlarged to cover all departments of the Government of India. Its jurisdiction extended to the Union Territories, and could be further extended to the states with the consent of the state governments involved.
Sardar Patel, first Deputy Prime Minister of free India and head of the Home Department, desired to weed out corruption in erstwhile princely states such as Jodhpur, Rewa and Tonk. Patel directed Legal Advisor Karam Chand Jain to monitor criminal proceedings against the dewans and chief ministers of those states. The DSPE acquired its popular current name, Central Bureau of Investigation, through a Home Ministry resolution on 1 April 1963.
CBI takes shape
The CBI established a reputation as India's foremost investigative agency with the resources for complicated cases, and it was requested to assist the investigation of crimes such as
murder,
kidnapping and
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
. The Supreme Court and a number of High Courts in the country also began assigning such investigations to the CBI on the basis of petitions filed by aggrieved parties. In 1987, the CBI was divided into the following divisions: the Anti-Corruption Division, the Special Crimes Division, the Economic Offences Division, the Policy and International Police Cooperation Division, the Administration Division, the Directorate of Prosecution Division and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory Division.
D. P. Kohli
SPE was track many criminal in jail
The founding director of the CBI was
D. P. Kohli, who held the office from 1 April 1963 to 31 May 1968. Before this, Kohli was
Inspector-general of police for the Special Police Establishment from 1955 to 1963 and held law-enforcement positions in
Madhya Bharat (as chief of police),
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...
and local central-government offices. For distinguished service, Kohli was awarded the
Padma Bhushan in 1967. Kohli saw in the Special Police Establishment the potential to growing into a National Investigative Agency. He nurtured the organisation during his long career as inspector general and director and laid the foundation on which the agency grew.
CBI directors
Organisation
The CBI is headed by a Director, an
IPS officer
The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj.
Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...
with a rank of
Director General of Police. The director is selected by a high-profile committee constituted under The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946 as amended through
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, and has a two-year term (can be extended for another three years). Other ranks in the CBI which may be staffed by the
IRS (Indian Revenue Service) officer and the
IPS are Special Director, Additional Director, Joint Director,
Deputy Inspector General of Police
A Deputy Inspector General of Police (abbreviated as DIG) is a high-ranking official position in Police in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
India
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is a ...
,
Senior Superintendent of Police,
Superintendent of Police,
Additional Superintendent of Police
Police ranks of India
Superintendent of police (SP) is a senior rank in the Indian Police Service
The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year ...
,
Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Inspector,
Sub-Inspector,
Assistant Sub-Inspector,
Head constable,
Constable which are recruited through SSC or through deputation from Police, Income Tax Department and Customs Department.
Constitutional status
Gauhati High Court had given a verdict on 6 November 2013, that CBI is unconstitutional and does not hold a legal status. However, the Supreme Court of India stayed this verdict when challenged by the central government and next hearing on this is fixed on 6 December 2013. Some legal experts believe that the ultimate solution for Indian government is to formulate a law for CBI as sooner or later the Supreme Court may hold the constitution of CBI unconstitutional. As of 2021, CBI is not a statutory body, and it's not a constitutional body. It continues to derive its powers from Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
Demand for greater autonomy
Demanding independent investigations, the CBI said that although it deferred to the government's authority in non-corruption cases, the agency felt that sufficient financial and administrative powers were required by the director (including a minimum three-year tenure to ensure "functional autonomy"). "As such, it is necessary that the director, CBI, should be vested with ex-officio powers of the Secretary to the Government of India, reporting directly to the minister, without having to go through the DoPT", the agency said, adding that financial powers were not enough and it wanted a separate budget allocation. Some form of autonomy has been granted by the Supreme Court of India to CBI when it held that CBI can prosecute senior bureaucrats without central government's permission.
Indian Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of India (IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters e ...
also held that Section 6A of DSPE Act is unconstitutional.
Appointment Committee and Selection committee
The CBI Director is appointed, for not less than a term of 2 years, by the Appointment Committee on recommendation of Selection Committee as mentioned in DSPE Act 1946 amended through the Lokpal & Lokayukta Act 2013 and CVC Act, 2003 respectively. The Appointment Committee consists of:
*
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Chairperson
*
Leader of Opposition of Loksabha or the Leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha, if the former is not present due to lack of mandated strength in the Lok Sabha - member
*
Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court Judge recommended by the Chief Justicemember
When making recommendations, the committee considers the views of the outgoing director.
The Selection Committee constituted under Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946 nominates a certain number of names to the Appointment Committee, one among whom the Appointment Committee appoints as the CBI director. The Selection Committee consists of:
NDA government, on 25 November 2014, moved an amendment bill to do away with the requirement of quorum in high-profile committee while recommending the names, for the post of director CBI, to the central government by introducing the clause "no appointment of a (CBI) director shall be invalid merely by reason of any vacancy or absence of members in the panel". and to replace the LOP with leader of single largest opposition party or pre-election coalition as, , the LOP post in the
Loksabha is vacant.
Infrastructure
CBI headquarters is a , 11-storey building in New Delhi, housing all branches of the agency. The building is equipped with a modern communications system, an advanced record-maintenance system, storage space, computerised access control and an additional facility for new technology. Interrogation rooms, cells, dormitories and conference halls are provided. The building has a staff cafeteria with a capacity of 500, gyms, a terrace garden, and bi-level basement parking for 470 vehicles. Advanced fire-control and power-backup systems are provided, in addition to a press briefing room and media lounge.
The CBI Academy in
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziabad Mu ...
(east of
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
) began in 1996. It is about from the New Delhi railway station and about from
Indira Gandhi International Airport
Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of , is situated in Palam, Delhi, southwest of the New D ...
. The campus, with fields and plantations, houses the administrative, academic, hostel and residential buildings. Before the academy was built a small training centre at Lok Nayak Bhawan,
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...
, conducted short-term in-service courses. The CBI then relied on state police-training institutions and the
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...
for basic training courses for deputy superintendents of police, sub-inspectors and constables.
The Academy accommodates the training needs of all CBI ranks. Facilities for specialised courses are also made available to the officials of the
state police, central police organisations (CPOs), public-sector vigilance organisations, bank and government departments and the
Indian Armed Forces.
Jurisdiction, powers and restrictions
The legal powers of investigation of the CBI are derived from the DSPE Act 1946, which confers powers, duties, privileges and liabilities on the Delhi Special Police Establishment (CBI) and officers of the Union Territories. The central government may extend to any area (except Union Territories) the powers and jurisdiction of the CBI for investigation, subject to the consent of the government of the concerned state. Members of the CBI at or above the rank of sub-inspector may be considered officers in charge of police stations. Under the act, the CBI can investigate only with notification by the central government.
In 2022, responding to a question, The Minister of state in the Prime Minister's office informed Rajya Sabha that a total of nine states had withdrawn general consent to the CBI to investigate cases in those states. The states include West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala and Punjab.
Relationship with state police
The CBI was originally constituted under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, to operate within the territory of Delhi. As policing and law is a subject that falls within state powers under the structure of Indian federalism, the CBI needs prior consent from other state governments in order to conduct investigations within their territory. This consent can be in the form of a 'general consent' under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, which remains in operation for all investigations until it is revoked, or alternatively, a 'specific consent' authorising investigations in individual cases.
Once consent is granted, the CBI can investigate economic, corruption, and special crimes (including national security, drugs and narcotics, etc.)
Most Indian states had granted general consent to the CBI to investigate crimes within their territory. However, as of 2020, several states have withdrawn their 'general consent' for the CBI to operate, and require a special consent to be granted on a case to case basis. In November 2018,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
governments withdrew general consents for the CBI to investigate, and accused the Central Government of using federal agencies to destabilise state politics. Andhra Pradesh restored general consent in 2019. In January 2019,
Chhattisgarh also withdrew general consent to the CBI. In July 2020,
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...
withdrew general consent to the CBI. In October 2020,
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...
withdrew general consent to the CBI. In November 2020,
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
,
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
, and
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
withdrew general consent to the CBI.
Tripura and
Mizoram
Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...
had previously withdrawn general consent to the CBI as well.
Altogether, as of November 2021, eight states require prior consent before the CBI can investigate crimes in their territory. On 4 March 2022, Meghalaya has withdrawn general consent to CBI, becoming the ninth state to do so.
High Courts and the Supreme Court
The
High Courts
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
and the
Supreme Court have the jurisdiction to order a CBI investigation into an offence alleged to have been committed in a state without the state's consent, according to a five-judge constitutional
bench of the Supreme Court (in Civil Appeals 6249 and 6250 of 2001) on 17 Feb 2010. The bench ruled: The court clarified ''this is an extraordinary power which must be exercised sparingly, cautiously and only in exceptional situations.
''
The SC in CBI VS CBI case held that the power to remove/send on leave the director of CBI, vested in the selection committee, not with the central govt. SC says this verdict when CBI Director challenge the decision of central govt to send him on leave without his will.
Exemption from Right to Information (RTI)
CBI is exempted from the provisions of the
Right to Information Act
The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of RTI Act, a ...
. This exemption was granted by the government on 9 June 2011 (with similar exemptions to the
National Investigating Agency
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the primary counter-terrorist task force of India. The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states under written ...
(NIA), the
Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation
The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation is the law enforcement agency under the Ministry of Finance responsible for investigating violations of India's tax laws, including fraud, evasion and money laundering. The controlling authorit ...
and the
National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid)) on the basis of national security. It was criticized by the Central Information Commission and RTI activists, who said the blanket exemption violated the letter and intent of the RTI Act.
The exemption was upheld in
Madras High Court.
Impact and success stories
Conviction rate
The CBI has a high conviction rate:
Major cases solved
Impact on the multiple high-profile cases, such as
Bhanwari Devi murder case,
Satyam scandal
The Satyam Computer Services scandal was India's largest corporate fraud until 2010. The founder and directors of India-based outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services, falsified the accounts, inflated the share price, and stole large sums ...
,
Sister Abhaya murder case
Sister Abhaya (born Beena Thomas; ), a Knanaya Catholic sister, was found dead in a well filled with water in St Pius X Convent in Kottayam on March 27, 1992. Investigation into this death is by far the longest running murder investigation i ...
, and
INX Media case.
Controversy and criticism
Corruption
In 2013, Judge of the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
(and later
Chief Justice of India)
R. M. Lodha criticized the CBI for being a "caged parrot speaking in its master's voice", due to its excessive political interference irrespective of which party happened to be in power.
Because of the CBI's political overtones,
it has been exposed by former officials such as Joginder Singh and B. R. Lall (director and joint director, respectively) as engaging in nepotism, wrongful prosecution and corruption. In Lall's book, ''Who Owns CBI'', he details how investigations are manipulated and derailed. Corruption within the organisation
has been revealed in information obtained under the RTI Act, and RTI activist Krishnanand Tripathi has alleged harassment from the CBI to save itself from exposure via RTI. The states that have withdrawn consent to the CBI have accused the CBI of being a tool used by the Union Government to unfairly target parties ideologically rival to them.
Political interference
Normally, cases assigned to the CBI are sensitive and of national importance. It is standard practice for state police departments to register cases under its
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
J ...
; if necessary, the central government may transfer a case to the CBI. The agency has been criticised for its mishandling of several scams.
It has also been criticized for dragging its feet investigating prominent politicians, such as
P. V. Narasimha Rao
Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian lawyer, statesman and politician who served as the 9th prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He is known for introducing various liberal reforms to Indi ...
,
Jayalalithaa
Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
,
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav (born 11 June 1948) is an Indian politician and president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He is a former Chief Minister of Bihar (1990-1997), a former Railway Minister of India (2004-2009), and a former Member of Parliam ...
,
Mayawati and
Mulayam Singh Yadav; this tactic leads to their acquittal or non-prosecution.
Bofors scandal
In January 2006 it was discovered that the CBI had quietly unfrozen bank accounts belonging to Italian businessman
Ottavio Quattrocchi, one of those accused in the 1986
Bofors scandal which tainted the government of
Rajiv Gandhi. The CBI was responsible for the inquiry into the Bofors case. Associates of then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi were linked to alleged payoffs made during the mid-1980s by Swedish arms firm AB Bofors, with US million in kickbacks moved from Britain and Panama to secret Swiss banks. The 410
howitzers purchased in the US million arms sale were reported to be inferior to those offered by a French competitor.
The CBI, which unfroze in a London bank in accounts held by Bofors, accused Quattrocchi and his wife Maria in 2006 but facilitated his travel by asking Interpol to take him off its wanted list on 29 April 2009.
After communications from the CBI, Interpol withdrew the
red corner notice on Quattrocchi.
Hawala scandal
A 1991 arrest of militants in Kashmir led to a raid on
hawala brokers, revealing evidence of large-scale payments to national politicians. The Jain hawala case encompassed former Union ministers Ajit Kumar Panja and P. Shiv Shankar, former Uttar Pradesh governor Motilal Vora, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha. The 20 defendants were discharged by Special Judge V. B. Gupta in the 650-million case, heard in New Delhi.
The judge ruled that there was no ''prima facie'' evidence against the accused which could be converted into legal evidence. Those freed included Bharatiya Janata Party president L. K. Advani; former Union ministers V. C. Shukla, Arjun Singh, Madhavrao Scindia, N. D. Tiwari and R. K. Dhawan, and former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana. In 1997 a ruling by late
Chief Justice of India J. S. Verma listed about two dozen guidelines which, if followed, would have ensured the independence of the investigating agency. Sixteen years later, successive governments circumvent the guidelines and treat the CBI as another wing of the government. Although the prosecution was prompted by a public-interest petition, the cases concluded with no convictions. In ''Vineet Narain & Others v Union of India AIR 1996 SC 3386'', the Supreme Court ruled that the
Central Vigilance Commission should have a supervisory role over the CBI.
Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case
In this case Santosh Kumar Singh, the alleged murderer of a 25-year-old law student, was acquitted for what the judge called "deliberate inaction" by the investigating team. The accused was the son of a high-ranking officer in the Indian Police Service, the reason for the CBI's involvement. The 1999 judgment noted that "the influence of the father of the accused has been there". Embarrassed by the judgment, CBI Director R. K. Raghavan appointed two special directors (P. C. Sharma and Gopal Achari) to study the judgement. The CBI appealed the verdict in Delhi High Court in 2000, and the court issued a warrant for the accused. The CBI applied for an early hearing in July 2006; in October the High Court found Singh guilty of rape and murder, sentencing him to death.
Sister Abhaya
This case concerns 27 March 1992 death of a
nun who was found in a
water well in the Saint Pius X convent hostel in
Kottayam
Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south ...
, Kerala. Five CBI investigations have failed to yield any suspects. The case was solved finally in December 2020 where the Main Accused were sent to life imprisonment by The Kerala High Court.
Sohrabuddin case
The CBI has been accused of supporting the ruling
Congress Party
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
against its opposition, the
BJP. The CBI is investigating the Sohrabuddin case in Gujarat; Geeta Johri, also investigating the case, claimed that the CBI is pressuring her to falsely implicate former Gujarat minister Amit Shah.
Sant Singh Chatwal case
Sant Singh Chatwal
Sant Singh Chatwal is an Indian American businessman and founder of the Dream Hotel Group where he is chair of the board. He has founded numerous hotel brands including The Chatwal, Dream Hotels, Time Hotels, and Unscripted Hotels, which operate ...
was a suspect in CBI records for 14 years. The agency had filed two charge sheets, sent
letters rogatory {{Short description, Formal request by a court to a foreign court for judicial assistance
Letters rogatory or letters of request are a formal request from a court to a foreign court for some type of judicial assistance. The most common remedies soug ...
abroad and sent a team to the United States to imprison Chatwal and his wife from 2–5 February 1997. On 30 May 2007 and 10 August 2008 former CBI directors Vijay Shankar and Ashwani Kumar, respectively, signed no-challenge orders on the imprisonment. Later, it was decided not to appeal their release.
This closed a case of bank fraud in which Chatwal had been embroiled for over a decade. Along with four others, Chatwal was charged with being part of a "criminal conspiracy" to defraud the Bank of India's New York branch of . Four charges were filed by the CBI, with Chatwal named a defendant in two. The other two trials are still in progress. RTI applicant Krishnanand Tripathi was denied access to public information concerning the closed cases. The
Central Information Commission later ordered the CBI to disclose the information; however, the CBI is exempt from the RTI Act (see
above). Chatwal is a recipient of the
Padma Bhushan.
Malankara Varghese murder case
This case concerns 5 December 2002 death of T. M. Varghese (also known as Malankara Varghese), a member of the
Malankara Orthodox Church managing committee and a timber merchant. Varghese Thekkekara, a priest and manager of the Angamali diocese of the rival
Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (part of the
Syriac Orthodox Church), was charged with murder and conspiracy on 9 May 2010. Thekkekara was not arrested after he was charged, for which the CBI was criticised by the
Kerala High Court and the media.
Bhopal gas tragedy
The CBI was publicly seen as ineffective in trying the 1984 Bhopal disaster case. Former CBI joint director B. R. Lall has said that he was asked to remain soft on extradition for Union Carbide CEO
Warren Anderson and drop the charges (which included
culpable homicide). Those accused received two-year sentences.
2G spectrum case
The
UPA government has been accused of allocating 2G spectrum to corporations at very low prices through corrupt and illegal means. The Supreme Court cited the CBI many times for its tardiness in the investigations; only after the court began monitoring its investigations were high-profile arrests made.
Indian coal allocation scam
This is a political scandal concerning the Indian UPA government's allocation of the nation's coal deposits to private companies by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which cost the government . CBI director
Ranjit Sinha submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court that the coal-scam status report prepared by the agency was shared with Congress Party law minister
Ashwani Kumar "as desired by him" and with secretary-level officers from the prime minister's office (PMO) and the coal ministry before presenting it to the court.
2008 Noida double murder case
This is a double murder case of 14-year-old girl Aarushi Talwar and 45-year-old Hemraj Banjade from
Noida
Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. On 26 November 2013, Parents of girl named Rajesh and Nupur Talwar were sentenced to life imprisonment for the twin murders. In January 2014, the Talwars challenged the decision in the
Allahabad High Court. The High Court's acquitted them of all charges on 12 October 2017 because of the lack of 'irresistible proof'. The Allahabad HC in its verdict said that there were loopholes in the evidence which found the parents not guilty. Court also said that CBI tampered evidences and tutored witnesses. Questions arose by nation on investigation and judgement given by CBI court.
In Popular Culture
The CBI has been portrayed in the
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
film series known as the
CBI (film series)
''CBI'' is an Indian Malayalam-language film series of mystery films directed by K. Madhu and written by S. N. Swamy featuring Mammootty as Sethurama Iyer, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer in the title role. The series star ...
written by
S. N. Swamy
S. Narayana Swamy alias S. N. Swamy is a screenwriter and actor who works in the Indian film industry predominantly in the Malayalam cinema. Having born in Kochi, Kerala Swamy is particularly known for scripting films in the thriller genre ...
and directed by
K. Madhu
K. Madhu is an Indian film director and producer who works predominantly in the Malayalam film industry. He made his debut with '' Malarum Kiliyum'' and has directed over 30 feature films in various languages (Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu & Kann ...
with actor
Mammootty portraying the lead role of CBI officer
Sethurama Iyer
Senior Superintendent Sethurama Iyer CBI (alternate spelling Sethuramayyar) is a fictional character, and the main protagonist of the CBI series of investigative thriller films in Malayalam directed by K. Madhu. The character was played by M ...
.
See also
*
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, anti-smuggling
*
Enforcement Directorate
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India. It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Gov ...
, anti economic crimes
*
Financial Intelligence Unit, anti money laundering
*
National Investigation Agency
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the primary counter-terrorist task force of India. The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states under written ...
, anti terrorism
*
NIA Most Wanted
*
Narcotics Control Bureau
The Narcotics Control Bureau ( NCB) is an Indian central law enforcement and intelligence agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The agency is tasked with combating drug trafficking and the use of illegal substanc ...
, anti drug trafficking
*
List of Indian intelligence agencies
References
Further reading
* Bhar, Sujit.
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Central Bureau of Investigation
1941 establishments in India
Government agencies established in 1941
Law enforcement agencies of India
Indian intelligence agencies
Domestic intelligence agencies