Filed For Private Interest- Centre Opposes PIL Before Bombay HC By Former Cop Against Appointment Of Subodh Jaiswal As CBI Director

The Union government has submitted before the Bombay High Court that the appointment of senior IPS officer Subodh Jaiswal as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director was done as per procedure laid down in law and that he had enough experience to probe corruption cases.

The submission by the Centre was made in an affidavit filed by Sanjay Chaurasia, Under Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, who also sought dismissal of the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by former Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajendra Trivedi challenging Jaiswal's appointment as CBI Director in May 2021.

Trivedi, in his petition, had claimed Jaiswal's appointment was made in contravention of the Delhi Police Establishment Act and sought the HC to call for records and proceedings of the three-member committee that had approved the Maharashtra cadre Indian Police Service officer's name for the coveted post.

The Centre urged the High Court to dismiss the petition terming it as devoid of merits and filed on assumptions . In its affidavit, the government said the petition has not been filed in public interest, but for "Trivedi's private interest".

The affidavit stated the appointment to the post of Director CBI is done by a committee under the chairpersonship of the Prime Minister and it also includes the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India or any Supreme Court judge nominated by the CJI.

The committee recommends a panel of officers on the basis of their seniority, integrity, experience in investigation and anti-corruption work, it stated.

The affidavit further said at the time of empanelment as Director General at the Centre, the Maharashtra government had in the vigilance profile of Jaiswal said there was no complaint or court case pending against him.

Refuting claims made by petitioner Trivedi that Jaiswal lacks experience in handling anti-graft cases, the Centre, in its affidavit, said the IPS officer of the 1985-batch has served as Superintendent of Police of three districts, Commissioner of Police of Mumbai and Maharashtra Director General of Police during his nearly four-decades-long career.

It is thereby erroneously averred that Jaiswal does not have any experience in investigating and supervising anti-corruption cases, the affidavit said. Jaiswal had earlier this month, too, filed an affidavit in response to the petition in which he claimed Trivedi has personal vendetta against him.

With PTI inputs