Not getting salary, CBI’s AK Bassi, who probed Rakesh Asthana, tells Supreme Court

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of the CBI, AK Bassi, on Friday told the apex court through his lawyer that he has not been receiving his salary from the department after he refused to take on his new posting in Port Blair.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of the CBI, AK Bassi, on Friday told the apex court through his lawyer that he has not been receiving his salary from the department after he refused to take on his new posting in Port Blair.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of the CBI, AK Bassi, on Friday told the apex court through his lawyer that he has not been receiving his salary from the department after he refused to take on his new posting in Port Blair.(PTI FILE PHOTO)

Senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan told a bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that Bassi has not received his salary since October after his transfer orders were issued and he did not report to the new post. The counsel reported the matter to the court while seeking an early hearing of Bassi’s petition questioning his transfer.

The bench adjourned the matter for three weeks after solicitor general Tushar Mehta asked for time on behalf of the department of personnel and training to submit a response.

Mehta initially said Bassi could file a representation before the new CBI director, to which Dhawan replied: “CBI had on the last hearing sought time to file its response. Let them file one.”

Following the appointment of M Nageshwar Rao as interim CBI director, Bassi was transferred to Port Blair on October 24. Bassi challenged this, saying his transfer was a “deep-rooted conspiracy, aimed at influencing the course of the investigation against Rakesh Asthana and further to penalise him for discharging his duties in a free and impartial manner in the Asthana FIR.”

On January 9, Bassi’s transfer order was withdrawn after Verma was reinstated as the CBI director by the Supreme Court. Soon after assuming charge, Verma transferred Bassi back to CBI’s Delhi office. But on January 11, when Verma was removed from the post by a high-powered appointment panel, Bassi was again transferred to Port Blair by Rao, who took charge again as CBI’s interim director.