Extract: The murky past of central vigilance commissioner KV Chowdary

Embroiled in the ongoing controversy surrounding Alok Verma and Rakesh Asthana, the top two officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation, is the central vigilance commissioner, or CVC, KV Chowdary. In September this year, Chowdary had initiated an inquiry against Verma after Asthana, the second-in-command at the CBI, filed a complaint before the central vigilance commission, accusing the CBI director of interfering in his team’s investigations. Matters came to a head with a dramatic overnight ouster of Verma, on 23 October. Soon after, the Supreme Court directed the CVC to complete the probe into Verma’s actions within two weeks, under the supervision of AK Patnaik, a retired judge of the apex court. On 16 November, having perused Chowdary’s report, the Supreme Court directed Verma to file his reply in a sealed cover. In his reply to the CVC’s enquiry, Verma reportedly levelled serious allegations against Chowdary and questioned his integrity as the CVC. “I am surprised that the line of questioning being adopted by the CVC is as if I am already guilty and have to prove my innocence rather than the other way around,” Verma stated.