Why in news?

• CBI which was once touted as the “premier investigative agency” in India finds itself torn apart from within and without.

• The bubbling of discontent within, largely as a result of the rivalry between Director and Special Director, has spilled over into an ugly, contest of allegations and counter-allegations.

• Thus, the CBI’s credibility depends on its personnel’s ability to remain committed to good governing principles.

What is the core of the issue?

• The very origin of the issue is hidden in murky bureaucratic obscurity and it has been governed by a skeletal framework law dating back to 1946.

• Any reform to its functioning happened only because courts repeatedly poked, prodded, and pushed governments into doing it.

• Even so, “reforms” have been half-hearted and sometimes couched in bad faith.

• The multiple attempts to shield high-level bureaucrats from CBI enquiry through the insertion of a provision mandating sanction from the government even before an enquiry is begun are witness to this.

Politicization  of the CBI:

• The courts have tried, over the years, to insulate the CBI from such partisan political interference, but to little avail.

• Whether in empowering the CVC to oversee the CBI’s functioning or introducing an element of bipartisanship into the appointment process, the courts’ well-intentioned moves and suggestions have been set at nought by successive administrations.

• Union governments have often used the threat of the CBI to get state leaders to fall in line, especially when they enjoy a full majority in Parliament.

• However, what sometimes goes unsaid is that the popularity of the CBI can be partly attributed to the dysfunction among the state police across the nation.

• The cause for the CBI’s current state is also emblematic of the larger dysfunction of the police force.

• The CBI has no independent cadre of officers to staff it and it depends on police officers from state cadres to serve on deputation.

• It is still woefully lacking in the necessary forensic capabilities and subject matter expertise required to crack the kinds of cases that are referred to it.

• The CBI’s record on all politically sensitive and cooruption matters has been patchy, at best.

• The acquittal of all the accused in the high-profile 2G scam should have prompted much soul-searching and inquiry into what went wrong.

What can be done?

• In this crisis lies an opportunity to create a better investigative agency, one that can be trusted to function in a competent and constitutional manner;

• It should work free of political interference and is bound only by a strong law to govern its functioning and inspire confidence in its abilities and impartiality to investigate and prosecute high profile offences