CBI is autonomous,Centre cannot dictate it: agency tells SC

Last week,govt had submitted that the CBI would look into the note filed by Swamy.

The CBI today asserted before the Supreme Court that the Centre could not dictate what was should do as it was an autonomous body and disapproved of its stand that the probe agency would look into the controversial Finance Ministry note on the 2G spectrum issue.

“CBI is autonomous of government and fully independent body. No one can put words in our mouth on what we are going to do,” senior advocate K K Venugopal,appearing for the CBI shot back while objecting to the Centre’s stand on the Finance Ministry’s note to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) submitted to the apex court.

The government had last week submitted that the CBI would look into the note filed by Swamy and would mention its views in its status report in the Supreme Court. The note suggested that the 2G scam could have been averted had Home Minister P Chidambaram insisted on the auction route for the 2G spectrum when he was the finance minister.

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The agency further said there was no need to look into the document as it was part of the voluminous material of over 500 pages,which was considered by it.

Venugopal,who appeared to be agitated,was then calmed down by a bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly,which said it got the answer from the CBI.

“You are saying that what has been put in Centre’s reply is not what CBI is going to do,” the bench said,adding “We got answer from the CBI that it won’t go by what the Centre has said.

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