CBI issues norms for probe against top officials

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday issued fresh guidelines for its officers, asking them to take permission of the Additional Director or above before beginning investigation against any Joint Secretary and above rank officers in the government.

The direction comes in the wake of a recent Supreme Court judgement which struck down the provision of seeking mandatory prior approval by the government to probe against officers of the rank of Joint Secretary and above. CBI Director Ranjit had said a proper mechanism had to be put in place to ensure that no innocent is subjected to this provision.

"We have strengthened our already existing mechanism and due diligence will be done before questioning any senior officer," CBI Director Ranjit had said. According to the circular issued by CBI, any inquiry against a Joint Secretary or above officer will have to be approved by a competent authority which would be either an Additional Director, a Special Director or the Director of CBI. It said that in case of a complaint in any CBI office against a Union Minister, the same shall be forwarded to the Home Ministry promptly for further action and the relevant file should remain in the personal custody of head of the branch. No complaint against any such officer will be handed over to a CBI officer below the rank of a Superintendent of Police, the guidelines said. The Superintendent of Police should ensure that the departmental records are examined discreetly so that secrecy of the verification is maintained, it said and advised to consult the records informally by contacting the concerned Vigilance Officers or the Head of the Department.