In closing investigations against Mr Parakh and Mr Birla, the CBI has had to admit the truth of the point made by both gentlemen from day one - and made uncharacteristically forcefully, too, by then prime minister Manmohan Singh, who held the coal portfolio for much of the relevant time. Similarly, the CBI has been forced to admit that Mr Bhave and Mr Abraham did nothing criminal - though the agency, in what can only be seen as an attempt to save some face, urged the finance ministry to investigate "irregularities" in the regulators' decisions. In each of these cases, policy or administrative decisions had been taken transparently, with the claims on how they were in the national interest clearly stated at the time and subsequently. But instead of realising that investigations into such decisions should be undertaken with greater care, the CBI has instead named Mr Baijal in an FIR. The agency claims that the hotel being privatised, the Laxmi Vilas, was undervalued, since it was sold at Rs 7.5 crore when the value of the land was at least Rs 150 crore. This logic, of course, makes the problematic assumption that the purchaser would have been able to demolish a protected heritage structure, built in 1911, in order to monetise the land.
It is vital that the CBI not remain, as it allegedly was for many years, a political instrument of the party in power in New Delhi. But in seeking greater independence for its actions, it must not be rendered unaccountable. Increasingly, it appears that it is, under its current leadership, striking out without due thought to the legal, moral and economic consequences of its decisions. Mr Parakh and Mr Baijal retired in 2005 and 2006; to chase them down for decisions taken transparently and with political backing only adds to the likelihood of administrative paralysis. Clearly, the CBI intends to persist on this dangerous path. Who will be held to account for the victims of the CBI's accusations? For the damage to the economy? The CBI must be held responsible.