“When people hear you are working in CBI, they will start smirking”

With just a few days left for retirement, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha urged the Supreme Court to direct the disclosure of the identity of the whistleblower who leaked the visitors’ register maintained at his residence, so that history does not refer to his organisation with a “smirk.”

The logbook allegedly showed that Mr. Sinha frequently met accused persons involved in the 2G scam at his residence even as the CBI was investigating and prosecuting them.

“The Director has only 15 days to go. What will happen to the CBI? When people hear you are working in CBI, they will start smirking. That is why we want the disclosure of the whistleblower’s identity to the court in a sealed cover,” senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the CBI chief, submitted on Tuesday.

But advocate Prashant Bhushan, lawyer for the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, did not flinch. Instead, lawyer and advocate Kamini Jaiswal, general secretary of the NGO, took personal responsibility.

The exchange became heated when Mr. Bhushan’s lawyer, senior advocate Dushyant Dave, retorted that Mr. Singh only represented the CBI chief, “an individual”, and not the organisation, the CBI.

The exchange comes over two months after Mr. Bhushan first informed the court about the leaked register. He said it was provided by a whistleblower, who wished to remain anonymous. He had sought the removal of Mr. Sinha from the 2G case.