Supreme Court refuses to quash Asthana’s appointment

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the appointment of Rakesh Asthana as Special Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and said his appointment “does not suffer from any illegality.”

Dismissing a writ petition filed by NGO Common Cause challenging Asthana’s appointment, a Bench of Justices R.K. Agrawal and A.M. Sapre said, “We cannot question the decision taken by the Selection Committee which is unanimous and before taking the decision, the director, CBI, had participated in the discussions and it is based on relevant materials and considerations.”

On the petitioner’s contention that the CBI director had submitted a note at the selection committee meeting opposing Asthana’s appointment, the Bench said it was not correct.