Mallikarjun Kharge filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday asking for the completion of term of incumbent Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief Alok Verma. Verma and his deputy, Rakesh Asthana had been asked to go on a leave by the Centre in a midnight coup conducted in October after both levelled allegations against each other of corruption.
In his petition, Kharge observed that neither the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) nor the centre could intervene in the completion of Verma’s tenure. Verma’s two-year tenure will expire in January 2019. Kharge also called the centre’s move to send Verma on leave “arbitrary and illegal.”
Following being forced on leave by the centre, Verma had moved the SC challenging the order. The three-bench panel of the SC led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi that heard the case had ruled that the CVC investigation be carried out in two weeks under the monitoring of former SC judge, Justice AK Patnaik.
The SC had also directed that interim CBI chief M. Nageshwar Rao, who was appointed by the centre after Verma was sent on leave, not take any major decisions while taking over the role.
The Congress party has alleged that Verma is being targeted because he was on the verge of initiating investigation against the Rafale deal, signed between the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) and Dassault Aviation. The party president Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the deal is a scam, with ADAG receiving “kickbacks from the deal”.
Earlier, it had emerged that one of ADAG’s loss-making subsidiary companies, Reliance Infrastructure had made a profit of around 284 crores after selling its 34.7% stake to Dassault Aviation.