Autonomy must come with a rider: Ranjit Sinha

As a high-powered Group of Ministers (GoM) gets cracking on how to free the CBI from external influence, the agency's director Ranjit Sinha, is aware that he has been a "catalyst of sorts" in the whole process although he wants a rider too - accountability.

As a high-powered Group of Ministers (GoM) gets cracking on how to free the CBI from external influence, the agency's director Ranjit Sinha, is aware that he has been a "catalyst of sorts" in the whole process although he wants a rider too - accountability.

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"The government can keep the agency under a parliamentary committee or review the system adopted for the functional autonomy of the FBI or other investigation agencies operating in democracies around the world. But the government will have to keep in mind that it (the CBI) should not become uncontrollable," Sinha told HT.

On May 6, the Supreme Court asked the government to try and come out with a law before July 10 to insulate the CBI from external influence and intrusion. Soon after, the government announced a GoM headed by finance minister P Chidambaram.

Sinha, a 1974 batch Bihar cadre IPS officer, who was chief of the ITBP when the government selected him to lead the CBI last year, will be giving his inputs to the GoM.

"We are not asking for the moon. Give us whatever is permissible in a democratic set-up while keeping the agency accountable," he said, when asked about the kind of autonomy he envisaged for his agency.