The troubles for ousted CBI director Alok Verma are mounting with every passing day. Latest in the addition is the notice issued by the Delhi High Court to the Centre as well as CBI on a writ petition alleging the ousted CBI chief of illegal phone tapping of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and then Law Secretary Suresh Chandra. The petition also claimed that phones of several other senior CBI officers were also tapped when the investigating agency was witnessing tussle between Alok Verma and Asthana.
The petitioner advocate Sarthak Chaturvedi demanded to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate Verma’s alleged excesses, abusing his powers to tap phones and risk national security in all this. A bench comprising of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao ordered the Home Ministry and the CBI to submit their replies on the petition filed by Sarthak Chaturvedi. The bench said, “Respondents (MHA and CBI) need to respond to the serious allegations raised by way of public interest litigation.” Next hearing of the matter would be held on March 26.
According to an India.com report, the petition also added that CBI DIG Manish Sinha’s application, which revealed several important facts of an ongoing investigation and “commission of cognisable offense of abuse of powers by public servants”, was published on a news website. Senior advocate Kirti Uppal, appearing for Sarthak Chaturvedi maintained in the court, “Who gave permission to tap the phone of the National Security Advisor? How can these facts come to light in the public domain? This is very dangerous for the country.”
The petitioner has alleged that the illegal act of “abuse of power” was carried out by some government servants working in the agency “for their ulterior motive”. The petition also said that the issue of tapping of phones came to light in an application submitted in the apex court by CBI DIG Sinha, who was probing an FIR registered against Asthana on charges of corruption. According to a My Nation report, the petition asked, “On 17.10.2018, the Director CBI briefed Sh. Ajit Doval, NSA and informed him that Sh. Rakesh Asthana’s name is cited in the FIR. Subsequently, on the same night, it was informed by the Special Unit to Sh. Manish Sinha that NSA has informed Sh. Rakesh Asthana about registration of FIR. It was informed that Sh. Rakesh Asthana reportedly made a request to NSA that he should not be arrested. How did Special Unit learn this? Did they illegally intercept calls of NSA and Sh. Rakesh Asthana?”
The Special Unit (SU) of the CBI looks after matters related to phone tapping and technical surveillance and it is led by a DIG-rank official. However, according to the petition sometimes the SU unit was headed by Rakesh Rathi, IPS, DIG, SU and reported to A K Sharma, Chief of Policy Division, and eventually to Verma. The plea alleged, “There was also a call between Dineshwar Prasad (father of Somesh Prasad and Manoj Prasad) with Samant Goel, Special Secretary, RAW. It establishes that mobile numbers of Manoj, Somesh, Samant, Dineshwar and Rakesh Asthana, were intercepted illegally by Rakesh Rathi, DIG, SU.”
The CBI vs CBI battle is getting complicated day by day, and the present matter which has come to light is extremely serious form National Security point of view. No wonder Alok Verma was removed from his post. Now, it’s matter of serious investigation on whose behalf Alok Verma stooped so low.