New Delhi: The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Monday submitted to the Supreme Court its report on a preliminary inquiry into allegations raised against CBI Director Alok Verma by his deputy and Special Director Rakesh Asthana.
Another report was also submitted before a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Shyam Kishan Kaul on the decisions taken by the officiating CBI Director M. Nageswara Rao since he took Verma’s place.
The bench directed the next hearing on the matter for November 16.
The top court had earlier directed the Commission to complete its preliminary inquiry against Verma, who has been divested of his duties and sent on leave by the Centre, within two weeks.
Verma, who has no love lost with Special CBI Director Rakesh Asthana and has been appearing before the three-member CVC headed by K V Chowdary, and is understood to have given a point-wise rebuttal to all the allegations levelled against him by his deputy.
Besides issuing notices to the Centre and the CVC on the plea of Verma, the apex court had October 26 also set a deadline of two weeks for the CVC to complete the preliminary inquiry against the CBI director.
The court had appointed former apex court judge A K Patnaik to supervise the ongoing inquiry of CVC against Verma.
It had also barred IPS officer M Nageswara Rao, who has been given interim charge of the CBI, from taking any major decision.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CVC, had said that the CVC has been conducting an inquiry into the allegations made in the August 24 note/letter of the Cabinet Secretary with regard to Verma.
Besides the plea filed by Verma, the court is also seized of the PIL filed by NGO Common Cause, which has sought a probe by special investigation team against CBI officers including Asthana, and had issued notices to the Centre, CBI, CVC, Asthana, Verma and Rao asking them to respond to it by November 12.
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