Day 27 – Q 2. Do you agree with the assertion that the reporting hierarchy of investigation and intelligence agencies (e.g. CBI, IB, RAW, IT Department etc) create a platform for political vendetta? Critically comment. 

2. Do you agree with the assertion that the reporting hierarchy of investigation and intelligence agencies (e.g. CBI, IB, RAW, IT Department etc) create a platform for political vendetta? Critically comment. 

क्या आप इस दावे से सहमत हैं कि जांच और खुफिया एजेंसियों (जैसे सीबीआई, आईबी, रॉ, आईटी विभाग आदि) की रिपोर्टिंग पदानुक्रम राजनीतिक प्रतिशोध के लिए एक मंच तैयार करती है? समालोचनात्मक टिप्पणी करें।

Introduction:

A ruling party misusing the investigating and intelligence machinery to selectively target their political opponents, by foisting cases against them is called as political vendetta.

Body

Reporting hierarchy of investigation and intelligence agencies don’t create a platform for political vendetta.

• Criminalization of Politics: Criminalization of politics was never an unknown phenomenon in the Indian political system. The people with Criminal background are entering the parliament; one of the main objectives of investigating and intelligence agencies of India is to minimize criminalization and corruption. In the process when these agencies arresting a person seems political vendetta working behind these agencies.
• Autonomy in decision making: Most of the investigating and intelligence agencies in India have autonomy in investigating major criminal, corruption cases. These agencies work according to their code of conduct and not according political motives of the government or any political party. This shows that there is no platform for political vendetta.

Reporting hierarchy of investigation and intelligence agencies create a platform for political vendetta.

• Honorable Supreme Court of India pointed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) needs to be more independent when investigating high profile cases of graft, as the current administrative structure, with an overarching Executive, hampers the agency from doing its job. Dependence of investigating agencies on government order to conduct investigation of major criminal, corruption cases paves the way for Political vendetta.
• The ruling government has often been accused even by the judiciary of appointing higher rank officials including the director of shared political ideologies in these agencies creates platform for political vendetta.
• NIA had assumed jurisdiction over a Scheduled Offence even suo moto whereas the areas of policing and public order lie within the exclusive legislative competence of the States.  The amendments to NIA act, 2008 provide sweeping powers to the police officers of NIA which can be misused for political vendetta.

Conclusion

Despite of the differences Investigating and intelligence agencies in India are important to solve high level and complex corruption and criminal cases and they are locally tracking the cases on the field can surely be equally efficient when it comes down to fighting a criminological phenomenon which is not only in-eradicable in our societies, but which annually causes drastic budgetary losses.