{"id":29471,"date":"2024-09-14T18:35:53","date_gmt":"2024-09-14T13:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=29471"},"modified":"2024-09-14T18:35:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-14T13:05:55","slug":"cbi-as-a-caged-parrot-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-09-2024\/cbi-as-a-caged-parrot-supreme-court","title":{"rendered":"CBI as a \u2018Caged Parrot\u2019: Supreme Court"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the Supreme Court of India has invoked the expression \u2018Caged Parrot\u2019 for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a case over the alleged liquor policy &#8216;scam&#8217; in Delhi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Judges, while granting bail to Chief Minister of Delhi in a corruption case related to the excise policy \u2018scam,\u2019 <strong>reiterated the importance of the CBI<\/strong> shedding its caged image.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The term \u201cCaged Parrot\u201d was <strong>first coined by the Supreme Court of India in 2013<\/strong> during the infamous <strong>coal block allocation scam<\/strong>. At that time, the CBI was criticised for its perceived lack of independence and susceptibility to political influence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A bench led by <strong>Justice R. M. Lodha<\/strong> made the scathing observation that the CBI was akin to a <strong><em>\u2018caged parrot speaking in the master\u2019s voice\u2019.<\/em><\/strong> It highlighted concerns about the <strong>agency\u2019s autonomy and its tendency to act<\/strong> at the behest of those in power.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The \u201cCaged Parrot\u201d aptly captured the idea that the CBI, despite being a premier investigative agency, was constrained and controlled, much like a parrot confined within a cage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Origins and Purpose:<\/strong> It traces its roots back to the <strong>Special Police Establishment (SPE)<\/strong>, established in 1941 during World War II to investigate bribery and corruption cases.<br>&#8211; In <strong>1963<\/strong>, acting on the recommendations of the <strong>Santhanam Committee<\/strong>, the CBI was formally <strong>set up by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs.<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Legal Framework: <\/strong>CBI operates under the<strong> Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act 1946<\/strong>, which grants it the authority to investigate cases related not only to corruption but also to major criminal offences.<br>&#8211; However, interestingly, the term \u201cCBI\u201d itself doesn\u2019t explicitly appear in the DSPE Act.<strong> <\/strong>It is <strong>not a statutory body<\/strong>.<br><strong>Functions<\/strong><br>&#8211; It functions under the <strong>Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions<\/strong> of the central government, and is <strong>exempted from the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Investigating Corruption:<\/strong> The CBI handles cases related to corruption, bribery, and economic offences.<br>&#8211; <strong>Economic Crimes:<\/strong> It tackles financial frauds, narcotics, smuggling, and other economic crimes.<br>&#8211; <strong>Special Crimes:<\/strong> Terrorism, kidnapping, and other serious offences fall within its purview.<br>&#8211; It is also the <strong>nodal police agency<\/strong> in India that coordinates investigations on behalf of <strong>Interpol member countries.<\/strong><br><strong>Jurisdiction<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Section 6 of the DPSE Act<\/strong> authorises the central government to direct CBI to probe a case within the jurisdiction of any state on the recommendation of the concerned state government.<br>&#8211; The courts can also order a CBI probe, and even monitor the progress of investigation.<br>&#8211; CBI can <strong><em>suo-moto<\/em><\/strong> take up investigation of offences <strong>only in the Union Territories.<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Autonomy and Superintendence of CBI<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The CBI is often referred to as an \u2018<strong>autonomous body<\/strong>\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)<\/strong> plays a critical role in <strong>overseeing the CBI by<\/strong> <strong>CVC Act (2003)<\/strong> that ensures that <strong>there is no interference<\/strong> in the agency\u2019s investigations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Even the CVC cannot meddle with the manner of investigation; its superintendence is limited to broader oversight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges and Criticisms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Administrative Autonomy:<\/strong> The CBI\u2019s senior officer appointments often depend on deputation from state or other central forces. It can impact its independence.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An<strong> ordinance<\/strong> passed in 2021<strong> extended the tenures of CBI<\/strong> <strong>directors from two to five years<\/strong>,<strong> with annual extensions<\/strong>. It was argued that extension of tenure <strong>undermines institutional checks and balances.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Financial Dependence: <\/strong>The CBI lacks full financial autonomy, as its administrative and financial control rests with the Ministry of Personnel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Resources: <\/strong>The lack of modern infrastructure, forensic labs, and technical experts hampers the quality and speed of investigations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Coordination Issue:<\/strong> There are coordination issues with state police and other investigative agencies, leading to gaps in intelligence sharing and joint operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead &amp; Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As the CBI continues its crucial role in investigating high-profile cases, it must strive to be more than a mere \u201cparrot\u201d repeating others\u2019 words.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Granting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) statutory status through a dedicated legislation, rather than relying on the <strong>Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946<\/strong>, will provide clarity and independence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC)<\/strong> recommended the CBI&#8217;s structural independence to shield it from executive influence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>CBI must invest in modern technology, training, and infrastructure<\/strong> to enhance its efficiency in handling complex investigations and cases involving economic offenses, cybercrimes, and corruption.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Court-monitored investigations and setting up<\/strong> a mechanism for suo moto investigations could ensure independence in sensitive cases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/supreme-court-cbi-caged-parrot-9566011\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently, the Supreme Court of India has invoked the expression \u2018Caged Parrot\u2019 for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a case over the alleged liquor policy &#8216;scam&#8217; in Delhi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29473,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29471\/revisions\/29473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}