New Delhi: Sacked CBI chief Alok Verma refused his posting as DG of fire service, civil defence and home guards and asked that he be considered superannuated.
In a letter to department of personnel and training secretary C. Chandramouli, he said “natural justice were scuttled” and the process was turned “upside down” in ensuring that he was removed as the director of CBI.
He said the committee did not provide him an opportunity to explain the CVC’s allegation before arriving deciding to remove him. “The selection committee did not consider the fact that the entire CVC report is premised on charges alluded by a complainant, who is presently under investigation by the CBI,” he said, referring to former CBI special director Rakesh Asthana.
He also pointed out that the CVC only forwarded a “purportedly signed statement of the complainant [Asthana]”. The former CBI special director did not appear before Justice (retired) A.K. Patnaik, who oversaw the inquiry into the controversial orders divesting Verma of his duties. “Also, Justice Patnaik has concluded that the findings/conclusions of the report are not his,” Verma said.
Also Read: Delhi HC Refuses to Cancel Bribery FIR Against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana
The CBI is one of the country’s most important organisations, Verma said, adding that the decision to remove him without due process will not just reflect on his functioning but will also “become a testimony on how the CBI as an institution will be treated by any government through the CVC”. “This is a moment of collective introspection, to state the least,” he said.
He added:
As a career bureaucrat, it is the idea of my integrity that has been the driving force for four decades in public service. I have served the Indian Police Service with an unblemished record and have headed police forces in Andaman and Nicobar islands, Puducherry, Mizoram, Delhi and also headed two organisations Delhi Prison and CBI. I have been lucky to have received the invaluable support from the forces that I have headed, which resulted in outstanding achievements having a direct bearing on the performance of the force and their welfare. I would like to thank the Indian Police Service and especially the organisations that I have served.
Verma said he would have already been superannuated on July 31, 2017. He was serving as the director of CBI till January 31 as it was a fixed tenure role. “The undersigned is no longer Director, CBI and has already crossed his superannuation age for DG, Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards. Accordingly, the undersigned may be deemed as superannuated with effect from today [Friday]”, Verma said.
Alok Verma’s letter to the DoPT. Credit: Special arrangement