There are cases in the past where the SC instead of direct monitoring has ordered a retired judge to collect evidence or prepare a report to ensure an independent and fair probe.
The decision of the Supreme Court to appoint a former SC judge to oversee the enquiry conducted by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) against the CBI director Alok Verma is unprecedented and is different from a SC-monitored probe.
There are cases in the past where the SC instead of direct monitoring has ordered a retired judge to collect evidence or prepare a report to ensure an independent and fair probe. After such report is prepared, the same is tabled before the Court. On this basis, the Court passes further orders.
In the present case, the CJI-headed bench said, "The enquiry will be conducted under the supervision of a retired judge of this Court Justice (Retd) AK Patnaik, who is requested to accept the assignment and ensure that enquiry is completed within the time frame fixed by this Court." The Court clarified that entrusting supervision over CVC probe to a retired judge was a "one time exception".
In the past, sitting judges of the SC had monitored the Jain Hawala scam, 2G spectrum scam, the coal block allocation scam, and corruption cases against former Chief Ministers Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav. The SC had engaged retired judges to conduct enquiry from time to time.
In the BCCI case, former CJI RM Lodha assisted the Court to gather evidence and enquire into the role of cricket players and officials in spot-fixing.
In the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the SC formed a committee of two retired judges of apex court in September 2017 to examine the decision of a SIT to close investigation in 241 cases. In August 2012, in the SEBI-Sahara case, the apex court ordered Sahara group to repay investors the amount collected under a debenture scheme at 15 per cent interest.
To oversee compliance of its order, Court appointed retired SC judge BN Agarwal. Besides criminal cases, in matters of public interest too, SC takes help from its retired judges. For instance, a committee chaired by former SC judge KS Radhakrishnan recommends suggestions on Road Safety to the apex court. Recently, the Court appointed another retired SC judge Amitava Roy to implement prison reforms.
Other Cases
Cases where SC has ordered a retired judge(s) to oversee probe include Jain hawala scam, 2G scam, coal block scam, 1984 Sikh riots and the BCCI spot-fixing case
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