Kriti Agrawal –
The Centre has declined to explain why it added the words ‘until further orders’ to the new director of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) Subodh Kumar Jaiswal tenure, which was previously set at two years.
According to a note issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on May 25 “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has based on the panel recommended by the Committee, approved the appointment of Shri Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, IPS (MH:1985), as Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a period of two years from the date of assumption of charge of the office or until further notice.”
In response to this order, Haryana-based lawyer and RTI activist Hemant Kumar filed a right to information (RTI) application with the DoPT on June 4, seeking information on the inclusion or usage of the words or until further orders, whichever comes first, in the order issued by the Secretariat of the Cabinet Appointments Committee.
The DoPT responded in a letter dated June 14 that, “The information requested by you is inquiry / clarificatory in nature, and to clarify or interpret is beyond the scope of information as described under Section 2(f) of the RTI Act, 2005.”
Kumar had pointed out that the Supreme Court had explicitly said in the matter of Vineet Narain v. Union of India that the minimum tenure of the CBI director will be two years, regardless of the incumbent’s age of superannuation.
As a result, he added, it was a question of investigation why, in the instance of the new director, the Centre included the words ‘or until further orders, whichever is earlier in the tenure specification.