Why Indians are so suspicious.

"Nobody will feel sorry for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) even if the Narendra Modi government seems bent on flushing it down the chute," wrote S Gupta. "Trouble is, the CBI is now threatening to take the judiciary down with it. The question is, must the judiciary allow this to happen?" "The CBI has been a rogue organisation for years. It has played hitman for the government of the day. It has merrily misused its powers, vastly expanded by the courts, and exploited the special protection granted to it." The CBI has been in the news because of a fight between Director Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana, which has seen each accuse the other of corruption. Verma was appointed director by the present government in January 2017. Asthana was appointed additional director in December 2016 and promoted to the rank of special director in October 2017 over the objections of Verma, who accused him of being corrupt. "On October 4, 2018, Lawyer Prashant Bhushan and former Union minister Arun Shourie met CBI director Alok Verma, demanding a probe into alleged corruption in the Rafale aircraft deal and offset contract." Although a minister in a previous BJP government under Prime Minister Vajpayee, Shourie has been highly critical of the present Prime Minister Modi, while Bhushan is well known for his activism, prompting the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Dipak Misra to remark, "He is not worth contempt." Not taking any chances the government transferred both Verma and Asthana out of the CBI as well as two aides of Verma. Verma, who was superannuated in July 2017, refused to join his new post and resigned. Justice Sikri, who sided with the government in removing Verma, refused an offer by the government for a post-retirement assignment at the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, to counter rumors of a quid pro quo. Why does the CBI chief matter so much? Because, "while the CBI can rarely get evidence to pass judicial scrutiny, its institutional genius lies in destroying lives and reputations through leaks and insinuations." "This is why the Modi government was so frightened of risking the CBI with an unfriendly boss like Alok Verma even for a day." Three CBI chiefs were apparently corrupted by meat exporter Moin Qureshi, accused of money laundering and bribing politicians and officials. Judges are rewarded with lucrative sinecures after retirement and, since the government is the biggest litigant, creates doubt in their impartiality, wrote Prof S Rajagopalan.. No wonder, India's red-corner notices to the Interpol are treated with suspicion. Politicians, police, judges, who do we trust?