Lokpal in present form does not address our concerns: CBI

New Delhi, Jul 13: The Lokpal Bill in its present form “seriously compromises” CBI's autonomy of investigation and does not address its concerns, the agency told a Parliamentary panel today.





The CBI also contended that multiplicty of authorities it has to report to has “greatly hampered” its functional and administrative autonomy and “thereby the effectiveness of CBI”.

Appearing before the Rajya Sabha Select Committee examining the Lokpal Bill, CBI Director A P Singh said the measure in the present form does not deal at all with the issue of agency's dependence on government over financial and administrative matters.

 In a detailed presentation before the Committee, CBI said one of the focal points of the Lokpal agitation was to give greater autonomy to the investigation agency.

“As far as CBI is concerned, this does not seem to have happened. On the contrary, the agency's autonomy of investigation has been seriously compromised,” CBI said in its presentation.

The agency said the dependence of CBI on the government in financial and administrative matters is both causative and reinforcing factor for the public perception that CBI can be influenced by the government and that the investigations are not immune to government's interference and pressure.

“The Lokpal Bill in its present form does not deal with this issue at all,” the CBI told the panel.