Jaitley’s misplaced anger on CBI over suspects
The assault by the centre on CBI has continued unabated. By dismissing Alok Verma from the post of Chief, the government had pointed out the limits to the premier investigating agency that cannot be crossed. For the government, it pretended as if it was an existential crisis to remove Verma from the post. Government wasn’t too happy with CBI being autonomous. If the agency had stepped ahead on Rafale investigation, the whole government would have been in trouble along with Modi. Many would have landed in jail.
After having dismissed the head of CBI, do other members even pose a challenge? Now the central government is eyeing the second line officers in CBI. Recently, CBI conducted a very important raid. It lodged an FIR against ICICI and Videocon Bank loan issue on Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar, Venugopal Dhoot and others. CBI officer Sudhanshu Dhar Misra is leading the case. He not only discovered this misdoing when he was the SP of Banking and Securities Fraud Cell, but also lodged an FIR against Chanda Kochhar without coming under anybody’s influence. CBI has put together a lot of documents to bolster it claims, since raids cannot be conducted without an FIR. The current culprits are corporates and hence the bankers have exercised maximum caution.
CBI staffers have seen what transpired with Alok Verma. Government has placed officers suitable to its agenda inside the CBI office. Now despite all this, if an FIR has been drawn up, it does mean the case is serious enough. If the witnesses in the case are not strong enough, they will be let off by the courts when the time comes. Soon as CBI prepared an FIR, Jaitley who had travelled abroad for treatment, criticized CBI right from there.
He said CBI was getting too ‘adventurous’ by projecting oneself as a hero. "There is a fundamental difference between investigative adventurism and professional investigation. Investigative adventurism involves casting the net too wide including people with no mens rea or even having a common intention to commit an offence, relying on presumptions and surmises with no legally admissible evidence. Adventurism leads to media leaks, ruins reputations and eventually invites strictures and not convictions. In the process, the targets are ruined because of harassment, loss of reputation and financial costs. It costs people their career," wrote Jaitely who is in the US for his treatment. Soon after his tweet, Sudhanshu Dhar was transferred proving this transfer was made owing to political pressure. This is another proof to show the depths CBI has been plumbing in the recent times.
What message is Jaitley trying to convey to CBI? Finance minister is also responsible if a bank overlooks the lending policy. Jaitley should have welcomed this decision by the CBI, instead of chiding the officers. What does he mean when he uses ‘adventurism’ as a message? Should the CBI not show its professionalism? Should the officers liaison with the cheating banks and maintain their balance? Even if the CBI officers had made a mistake, what was the need for Jaitley to hurriedly send out a tweet even when he was away in the US?
Central Government used the same CBI to attack the opposition party leaders, costing the agency its reputation. Now when CBI does things on its own, it is being termed as adventurism and whatnot. He has revealed himself before the media by openly tweeting like this. He seems to be deeply affected by CBI’s work. What is the need for CBI if it has to seek the permission of the centre before carrying out raids? The main nerve of CBI has already been severed. Now the other organs are also being cut. The situation now is that CBI cannot lodge an independent FIR or conduct raids even if the records suggest so. CBI is now limited to only ‘fix’ the opposition party leaders. Instead of spending lakhs and crores to maintain a defunct agency, it is better to shut shop forever.
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Regulator DGCA eases flight duty norms for pilots amid IndiGo crisis
Mumbai (PTI): Aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday eased the flight duty norms by allowing substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period amid massive operational disruptions at IndiGo, according to sources.
As per the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, "no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest", which means that weekly rest period and leaves are to be treated separately. The clause was part of efforts to address fatigue issues among the pilots.
Citing IndiGo flight disruptions, sources told PTI that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to withdraw the provision 'no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest' from the FDTL norms.
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"In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision," DGCA said in a communication dated December 5.
The gaps in planning ahead of the implementation of the revised FDTL, the second phase of which came into force from November 1, have resulted in crew shortage at IndiGo and is one of the key reasons for the current disruptions.
#BREAKING: #DGCA relaxes a clause which debarred airlines to club leaves with weekly rest to mitigate #IndiGo crisis
— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) December 5, 2025
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