oppn parties Autonomy For The CBI Is The Only Solution

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  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
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  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
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  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Tragedy in Kolkata: Stampede at the Chor Bagan Pujo results in 18 people losing their lives and scores injured /////// The stampede was caused by a sudden downpour which made people in the heavy crowd run for cover
oppn parties
Autonomy For The CBI Is The Only Solution

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-11-10 15:25:33

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

In 2013, the Supreme Court has described the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as "a caged parrot" and said that it listened only to "his master's voice", meaning the ruling dispensation at the Centre. Being a federal agency, the CBI is controlled by the Central government. How it is used, or misused, means a lot to how crimes that span across the country or even big crimes in states too controversial or hot for the state police to handle are solved. The Madras HC had issued guidelines in August 2021 for the Centre to make the CBI independent.

Although most governments at the Centre have regularly used the CBI for political gains by targeting opposition politicians or politically-related persons and businessmen who did not bow before them, the situation got out of hand when many states got to be ruled by opposition parties between 2014 and now. Hence, states such as West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Mizoram have withdrawn the general consent granted to the CBI for conducting investigations in their states. The CBI has now got to take case-by-case permission from these states, which according to the agency hampers investigations.

The Supreme Court has now agreed to examine the issue saying that states withdrawing consent to CBI is not a "desirable position". The CBI also said that various high courts also stay investigations and this was also having an impact. The court agreed to examine that also.

While the Supreme Court has adopted the correct legal stance, the bigger issue is of CBI autonomy. Unless a federal investigating agency is independent and is free from interference by the ruling dispensation, it will never be trusted by opposition-ruled states. If the law says that states can withhold general consent and if the states feel that the CBI is being misused, they are well within their rights to withhold it.

The CBI is also right in saying that seeking case-by-case permission from states and frequent stay orders from high courts hamper investigations. But the solution lies in making the CBI independent. Only then will it be seen as a non-partisan body and will be trusted by all. As long as the Centre controls it and uses it as it pleases, there will be differences with opposition-ruled states and cases will be filed in high courts that will stay the investigations. Since the Supreme Court is now seized of the matter, it will definitely suggest the way forward. But the two issues will only be solved when the CBI is given complete autonomy. 

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