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SC verdict on CBI Director Alok Verma's plea challenging his leave on Tuesday

Verma had challenged the order in SC and hit out at the government claiming that divesting him of his powers "overnight" amounts to interference in the independence of the agency.

SC verdict on CBI Director Alok Verma's plea challenging his leave on Tuesday

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will on Tuesday pronounce its verdict on petitions filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Alok Verma and NGO Common Cause challenging the Centre's decision to send him on leave and divest him of all responsibilities.

In an unprecedented shake-up in CBI's 55-year-history in October, both CBI Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana were stripped of their powers and sent on leave in dramatic overnight action by the government.

Joint Director M Nageswar Rao, a 1986-batch Odisha cadre IPS officer, was appointed to look after the "duties and functions" of the director with "immediate effect" as an "interim measure" following the order.

Verma had challenged the order in SC and hit out at the government claiming that divesting him of his powers "overnight" amounts to interference in the independence of the agency.

The government order had come hours after the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) recommended that Verma and Asthana be sent on leave and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be formed to probe corruption allegations against them. The CVC, which is headed by KV Chowdary, has superintendence over the CBI in cases of corruption.

The government also came out with a detailed statement saying that wilful obstructions caused by Verma in the functioning of the CVC, which was looking into complaints of corruption against him, and a "faction feud" with Asthana that "vitiated" the environment in the agency resulted in the powers of both the officers being divested.