CBI lacks proper legal structure, says former SC judge Chelameswar
Mumbai: Former Supreme Court judge Jasti Chelameswar rued Friday that no proper legal structure was ever laid down for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
He was speaking at an interactive session hosted by the All India Professionals Congress, an organisation affiliated to the Congress party, here.
Asked about the recent turmoil within the CBI, where the two senior most officials have levelled allegations against each other, Chelameswar said that "nobody issued (defined) a legal structure of the organisation" in the last seventy years.
"It is not a constitutional body. It is not a statutory body. This setup almost has tantalising powers," he said. The CBI was set up under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.
Every time something happens at the state-level with political implications, people want the case to be referred to the CBI, forgetting that the agency also consists of human beings and they can make mistakes, he said.
"Every political party could work towards creating a proper statutory framework for the organisation," the retired judge added.
Earlier this year, Chelameswar was among the four senior judges of the Supreme Court who went public with their grievances about then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra's style of functioning.
Asked about that unprecedented press conference, Chelameswar said going public was the only option available to them.
The press conference was the culmination of a series of events that started in November 2017, and the decision to go public was taken only after a letter written to then CJI did not yield results, he said.
"There was a lot of criticism over our going public. If there was any possibility of issues getting solved internally, why would any of us venture out," he said.
Asked about the possibility of the Supreme Court coming in the ambit of the Right to Information Act, he said judges already give reasoning for the legal decisions taken by them but there could be scope for bringing administrative decisions within the RTI purview.
Asked to comment on absconding businessman Vijay Mallya's lawyers contending in the UK court while opposing request for his extradition that conditions in Indian jails are bad, he said while Indian jails do not boast of "five-star facilities", certain prisoners do get five-star treatment.
He also said that he would not be joining any political party or contest polls.
"Some may think political appointments (for retired judges) are not right. But what has the civil society done about it? If the civil society thought of it as not right, they should have protested. That may not have stopped it (the appointments) but would have been a deterrent factor," he said.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
