Home Ministry recommends displinary action against former CBI chief Alok Verma

In a key development, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday recommended disciplinary action against former CBI Director Alok Verma. The Ministry has written to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), and the nodal ministry for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - which is the Law & Justice Ministry, stating that the former CBI Director misused his official position and violated the relevant service rules, and asked them to take necessary disciplinary action against Alok Verma.

The DoPT has forwarded the MHA’s recommendation to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the recruitment body for IPS officers, the officials said. They added that if the recommendation of the MHA is approved, action will be taken against Alok Verma, which may include temporary or permanent forfeiture of the former CBI Director's pension and retirement benefits. 

Alok Verma's ouster from CBI

A 1979-batch (retired) Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, Alok Verma took over as the CBI Director on February 1, 2017, for a fixed two-year tenure. However, was transferred as Director General Fire Services after the high-powered selection committee decided to remove him from the post of CBI director. The committee, which comprised  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Justice A K Sikri, and leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, decided to transfer him 21 days ahead of the completion of his tenure. Thereafter, he submitted his resignation.

"The decision made will not just be a reflection on my functioning but will become a testimony on how the CBI as an institution will be treated by any government through the CVC, who is appointed by majority members of the ruling government. This is a moment of collective introspection, to state the least," Alok Verma wrote in his resignation letter.

As per reports, there were eight charges against Alok Verma in the CVC report, which included alleged attempts to induct officers with a tarnished image. There were also charges of compromising probe in the case related to controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi, IRCTC scam among others. His ouster and the controversy that preceded it involved Verma and then CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana levelling corruption allegations against each other. Ultimately both were removed from the CBI. Rakesh Asthana was recently appointed as the Police Commissioner of Delhi after serving as DG-BSF and DG-NCB in the interim.