CBI chief’s case in Supreme Court on Monday

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Monday hold second hearing on CBI director Alok Verma’s petition to reverse the government order divesting him of duties and sending him on leave. Intriguingly, the hearing will be before a 2-judge Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi  and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and not by the 3-judge Bench that also included Justice KM Joseph in the last hearing on October 26.

The Court will be also hearing the intervention application of Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge who has pleaded that neither the government nor the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) have powers to remove the CBI chief from his post. Kharge has moved the Court in his capacity as a member of the 3-member selection panel that chooses the CBI chief and that alone can remove him. The panel consists of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and Kharge as leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha.

As per the Apex Court orders, the CVC heard Verma on Friday on the complaint filed against him by his No 2 special director Rakesh Asthana. It also gave a hearing to Asthana on Thursday to understand some of the charges he had levelled against Verma. Asthana wanted to be heard again on Friday after Verma deposed, but the CVC refused.On Saturday, former Sup-reme Court judge Dr Ananga Kumar Patnaik (69), who was appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee the CVC probe into charges on Verma, examined the draft report prepared by the CVC for submission to the Apex Court.