'CBI cannot become a stumbling block to economic reforms'

New CBI director Vijay Shankar in an exclusive interview to Hardnews
Sanjay Kapoor Delhi

Vijay Shankar, the new director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is clear about what the investigating agency will not do. "We would not be used as a stumbling block in the ongoing economic reforms process or to subvert the decision-making process in poverty alleviation programmes and in strategic areas of defence and infrastructure sectors."

Known for his tough and no-nonsense ways, Shankar showed awareness of how long-drawn investigations could become a source of harassment for individuals and companies. For many years, some large corporations were kept away from bidding for contracts as they were under an unending CBI probe. Companies like Airbus Industrie had to wait for a formal closure of their case, before they could chase the lucrative Indian Airlines deal. Shankar is thinking big. He wants CBI to be the most "visible and effective instrument of the government's endeavour towards good governance."

A lover of Urdu poetry, Shankar is going through all the high profile cases that did not get the approval of the courts. "This is to learn from them". He refused to comment if the CBI was thinking of reopening some of these cases.
 
Excerpts from his first interview after Shankar took over as CBI Director: 
Please accept our congratulations for becoming the Director of CBI. You have taken over at a time when corruption scandals have rocked the polity. How do you plan to countenance this malaise?
The CBI has a limited role in this context as it functions within the parameters of existing laws and regulations. The scandals that have been exposed in the visual media pertain to elected representatives and involve far larger issues that have to be dealt with by the parliament, political parties and by the people of this country. Having said that, we feel that once the cases are detected then exemplary punishment should be meted out.

There is a dominant view that CBI fails to nail the guilty when it comes to corruption in high places. Sometimes they cannot get quality evidence and in other cases they fail to get corroborative evidence — as happened with the Jain Hawala scandal and in other cases — the matter keeps dragging in the courts endlessly. What is the CBI doing to correct
the impression?
The perception that the CBI fails to nail people in high places is a very serious matter. I fully agree that the CBI needs to correct this perception by becoming more efficient, prompt in its disposal of cases, improving standards of investigation and becoming accessible in a transparent manner. There is a flip side to it too. CBI's role is confined to investigation and it has a limited role during prosecution. Therefore, this perception needs to be addressed together by all elements comprising the criminal justice system. In fact, there is an urgent need to have a fresh look at our laws, particularly the procedural aspects. The CBI also has to perform much better. Also, an internal study indicates that the major portion of the delay is due to stay orders and interlocutory petitions. Action, therefore, is needed from the side of judiciary also. There are vacancies in courts and in the ranks of prosecutors. We are trying to ensure that there is no adjournment on behalf of prosecution.