Pulled up by the Supreme Court for having shared the status report on the probe into the coal blocks allocation scam with the Union government, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday said it was not an autonomous agency and that it was part of the government.
Following an uproar over the statement made by its Director Ranjit Sinha, the agency late in the evening issued a clarification, saying that “the CBI does not exist in isolation. We are part of a system and need to consult and take opinion on certain occasions.”
Earlier in the day, while interacting with reporters, Mr. Sinha conceded that changes were indeed made in the draft report and all relevant details in this regard were submitted to the Supreme Court.
“The report has not been shown to any outsider, but the Law Minister of the country.”
Details of both the original and the amended drafts were provided to the court.
“I have given the factual report to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover that has each and every detail. But the court has directed to give it on an affidavit and it will be done accordingly,” he said.
Asked whether he owed a moral responsibility, Mr. Sinha said the episode had caused no embarrassment.
“The Supreme Court has made some observations…we will reply to all queries they have raised. I am sure the court will take a very reasonable view.”
To a query that under what rules the status report was shared with the Law Minister, Mr. Sinha said no such guidelines were required.
