New Delhi, Aug 31 : The CBI is beginning to earn the reputation of being an inspector of drains.The nagging of small fry has become the standard.
While it was once India’s most prestigious anti-corruption agency but it has been reduced to a lesser cousin with the advent of the Enforcement Directorate armed to the teeth with PMLA.Furthermore as the case progresses up the food chain it becomes weaker due to the poor quality of investigation and weak evidence that is not substantiated before the courts of higher levels.
The information provided by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) indicate that in 2021 the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recorded a 2.27 per cent less conviction rates in comparison to 2020.
In 2021 the CBI was able to convict in 67.56 percent of the cases, whereas in 2020, the conviction rate was 69.83 percent.
These figures are mostly referring to the convictions in the trial courts since the numbers fall when cases are transferred to higher courts.
In the majority of cases the CBI is defeated in the higher courts because of lapses in investigation and the absence of evidence.
Senior attorney Geetha Luthra has said that it could be due to the fact that the majority of these cases are political in nature and originate from various states.
“Unless there is evidence that is waterproof that the accused is acquitted,” Luthra said.
Additionally sometimes, the central probe agency is unable to provide chargesheets in time due to the absence of manpower and work overloaded.
In the past year the CBI had informed the Supreme Court that it is striving to raise the rate of conviction to 75 percent.In 2020, the conviction rate was 69.83 percent which was more than 2021 (67.56 percent).
CBI Director S.K.Jaiswal, in an affidavit filed before the apex tribunal in 2021, said that by August 2022 CBI would increase the conviction rate up to 75 percent.
The CVC statistics show that in the in the year that was last the agency filed 680 cases and began preliminary inquiries in 67 cases.
Meanwhile, the numbers were 589 cases and preliminary inquiries of 87 in 2020.
In 2021, about 10,232 cases were still pending in various courts and courts, including 275 cases filed in the Prevention of Corruption Act, that were pending in the courts for over 20 years.
In 2021 the CBI demonstrated its case in the courts on 202 occasions.the jury acquitted 82 people and 15 were dismissed because of the lack of evidence to prove their innocence, and 61 cases were cleared of due to other reasons.
There were other problems with the Federal probe agency since in many instances it has not provided the chargesheet in time.
“The CBI is normally required to complete the investigation in an investigation that is registered within one year.
The completion of investigation requires the filing of chargesheets when warranted, after receiving approval from the authority in charge.The Commission has noted that there have been delays in concluding the investigation in certain instances,” the CVC mentioned in its report.
The report also stated that it could have happened because of Covid-19, a lack of manpower, overwork and the delay in getting responses to Letters Rogatory (LR) (LR), an official request from an international court to a domestic court seeking some kind of assistance from the judiciary.
There are also around 55 cases filed against top officers of the CBI.However, the investigations into these cases has been slow.Seventeen instances of the 55 of the 55 are in the process longer than 4 years prior to the agency can conclude its investigation.
There are 20 additional cases filed against officials of low rank of the CBI that are in the process, with nine cases that are pending over four years.This indicates that when it is time to take actions against the CBI’s own officers the CBI is slow.
Cases with a lot of attention in which CBI did not succeed
Sushant Singh Rajput case The CBI has not completed their investigation into the murder of Sushant Singh Rajput who died in June 2020, under mysterious circumstances.The body was discovered hanging on the ceiling of his apartment rented in Mumbai.
The CBI has created the crime scene, however the investigation is ongoing.
Arushi Talwar’s murder case Arushi Talwar as well as domestic aid Hemraj Banjade were killed in the evening of May 15 and 16 in 2008.
The case was turned over to the CBI in 2009.The Allahabad High Court acquitted the accused , stating that the evidence was not beyond reasonable doubt.
2G Case 2G Case: The CBI did not establish its claims in the claimed 2G spectrum fraud which cost the public purse the sum of Rs 176,000 crore.Special Judge O.P.Saini who was the judge in charge of the hearing of every 2G spectrum cases since the beginning of 2011, had stated in 2017 that his seven-year wait to hear evidence was “all in vain” because the trial was primarily founded on “rumour and gossip”.
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