The Central Government on Wednesday submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court on insulating Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from external influence.
The 41-page affidavit, which has been prepared by a Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, includes proposals by the ministerial group for the independence and the functional autonomy of the CBI.
According to the affidavit, a collegium system has been proposed for the appointment of the CBI Director, which will include Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.
The CBI Director will have more financial powers.
The Union Cabinet had last week accepted the recommendation of the GoM to enhance the autonomy of CBI.
The Supreme Court had earlier made scathing observations on the functioning of CBI while hearing the coal block allocation case, and had given the government time till July 3 to come up with proposals for greater autonomy to the CBI.
The apex court had called the CBI 'a caged parrot' that speaks in its master's voice after the investigating agency admitted in an affidavit that Ashwani Kumar, who quit as the Law Minister, and senior officials of the Prime Minister's Office and the coal ministry had made certain changes in the report on the allocation of coal blocks.
The apex court, which reserved its harshest words for the CBI, calling it a 'caged parrot with many masters', stressed the need for the CBI to operate independently of the political establishment.
