New Delhi: The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph on Friday said CBI Director Alok Verma should be given the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) report on the allegations against him in a sealed cover and asked him to file his response by Monday.
“Having perused the report, we are of the view that at this stage and before taking any decision, a copy of the report be given to the counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Alok Verma. It will be open for the petitioner to file a response to the report, again in a sealed cover. The aforesaid action has been considered necessary by the court to preserve the sanctity of the CVC and public confidence in the institution,” the order said, according to a report in Livelaw.in.
The bench also said the CVC report should also be given to attorney general K. K. Venugopal and solicitor general Tushar Mehta.
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“Needless to say, the report will be treated by utmost confidentiality”, the bench ordered, adding that at this stage, it is not inclined to call upon either the Union of India or any other party to submit response.
The top court observed during the hearing that the CVC report is “very uncomplimentary” on some charges against Verma and said a further probe was needed on some aspects.
“CVC has filed an exhaustive report. The report has been categorised and is very complimentary on some charges, not so complimentary some charges and very uncomplimentary on some charges. CVC report says some charges are required to be investigated and they need time,” the bench said.
The apex court said Verma should file his response in a sealed cover by 1 pm on Monday. It will take up the matter on Tuesday.
The court turned down Special CBI Director Rakesh Asthana’s request that the CVC report be provided to him as well. The confidentiality of the CVC report is needed to protect public confidence in the CBI and sanctity of the institution, it said.
The court said it will consider the matter pertaining to decisions taken by acting CBI director M. Nageswara Rao from October 23-26 on the next date of hearing.
The court was hearing petitions filed by Verma and Common Cause, an NGO, challenging the government’s order to divest Verma of his duties as CBI director. The apex court had on October 26 given the CVC two weeks to complete its probe against Verma. The CVC had submitted its preliminary report of the probe, being monitored by its retired judge, Justice A.K. Patnaik, to the apex court on Monday.
(With inputs from PTI)