CBI says officers not serious about following court cases

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NEW DELHI: CBI officers are not serious about following their investigations in courts across India and they deliberately seek ‘adjournments’ time and again. At least, that’s the impression carried by the agency’s top brass.

And it is not just the anti-corruption agency’s criminal and corruption investigations, officers look for excuses to postpone the court proceedings, the cases filed by its own officers in CAT/high courts in service matters and agency’s writ petitions are also kept neglected.

On Tuesday CBI’s top brass issued a circular increasing concerns about the practice adopted by agency officers and its legal department and has taken a serious view of it, while ordering all its offices/heads of branches (HoBs) to follow on it.

“A number of cases have been filed by CBI officers/officials in connection with service matters in various CAT/High Courts. Similarly, the CBI has also filed writ petitions against the orders passed by the CAT/High Courts. The cases pending in the courts at Delhi are being monitored by the legal cell as well as the concerned cadre controlling section, whereas the cases pending in the courts outside Delhi are being monitored by the concerned CBI branches,” said the circular.

“It has been noticed that the cases are not being attended to on priority basis and adjournments are sought from the court, time and again on one pretext or the other,” said the CBI circular, issued by its administration division.

It adds, “Such attitude of seeking adjournment time and again is not a healthy practice and has been viewed seriously.”

All CBI’s circulars and notifications are approved by its director.  While asking its departments and officers to pull up their socks, agency has referred to a recent order by a court, which scolded the agency on delaying tactics and even imposed a fine on the agency.

In November 2010, agency had faced the anger of a special CBI judge J P S Malik in Delhi who charged a fine of Rs 10,000 on it for “unnecessarily” delaying the proceedings by not appointing a prosecutor in the 2006 Naval War Room leak case.

The agency directs its HoBs to protect that court matters are attended on priority basis and seeking of unnecessary adjournment should be avoided. “Action for nomination of counsel, preparation and filing of the reply must be taken immediately on receipt of the copy of OA. The progress in the court cases must be confident to the Head Office promptly,” says the circular.