Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a strong pitch for the apex investigation agency of India after the Guwahati High Court quashed the resolution on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as 'unconstitutional' last week.
"Recently questions have come up about the legality of the CBI. Our government will look into this seriously and promptly. The government will do all that is necessary to establish the need for the CBI and its legitimacy, and protect its past and future work," Singh said during a CBI conference on corruption.
"This is a matter that will undoubtedly have to be considered also by the highest court in the land."
The Supreme Court put a stay on the unprecedented order on Wednesday after the UPA government appealed saying that the High Court bench had erred in their judgment. The government asserted that the CBI was formed in 1963 under a provision of the Delhi Police Special Establishment Act of 1946, and has stood the test of time.
The next hearing for the case has been fixed on 6 December by the apex court. The PM further defended the CBI saying, "Under our constitution maintenance of public order is domain of executive. And the police and investigative agencies are part of the executive."
While speaking on corruption, Singh said that since the nation was undergoing vast changes under the economic reforms of the 1990s, there have been 'new areas of crime and corruption' being unfolded before the CBI.
"It is important that we look at the issue of corruption in the correct perspective. While we must maintain utmost vigilance in preventing corruption and do our utmost in ensuring transparency, accountability and probity," said the PM.
Check out the video where PM Manmohan Singh defends CBI over Guahati high Court ruling
