[Delay in filing appeals] CBI Director General to appear before Calcutta High Court tomorrow

The Director General of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Subodh Kumar Jaiswal will appear before the Calcutta High Court tomorrow to explain the delays by the central agency in filing appeals in cases being probed by it. .Justice Bibek Chaudhuri had on April 6, 2022 taken a strong view of the agency filing appeals after the expiry of the limitation period.The Court had noted that the officers were failing to comply with the CBI manual which contains detailed provisions to avoid delay and ensure filing of appeals and revisions within the limitation period.“Specific timeline was fixed for each of the officers of the CBI within which the order is to be passed and then sent to the next officer in the hierarchy. Undoubtedly the officers of CBI sitting in higher echelon of the department have failed to follow the guideline,” Justice Chaudhuri had said. The Court had, therefore, proposed an amendment to the CBI manual empowering the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of the High Court to give his opinion as to whether an appeal should be filed.This the Court said, could avoid delays and to ensure adherence to the limitation period.“This Court sincerely believes that the above arrangement, if incorporated, the CBI will be able to file appeals before the Court within the period of limitation, failing which there may be high chances that the appeals filed by the CBI may be dismissed on the ground of limitation,” the Court had observed..The CBI and Central government were asked to submit their opinion on this issue.The reason for delay was slated to be the time taken for procurement of certified copy of the judgment to be appealed against as well as the time taken in getting the final nod from higher CBI officials in Delhi on whether an appeal needs to be filed. .The Court wondered why the case record has to travel to Delhi for a formal permission from the Director of CBI, who after all was a police officer and did not have better legal acumen than the ASG.“This Court obviously trusts and hopes that the Central Government in its executive branch will also trust the expert opinion of the learned Additional Solicitor General more than the Director of CBI who may have varied experience in investigation but he does not have better legal acumen than the Additional Solicitor General,” the Court had said. .When the case was taken up on May 11, 2022, the Court felt that the issue could not be decided without hearing the CBI Director. Therefore, the Court sought his presence virtually on June 8, 2022 at 2 pm..[Read Orders]