No 'deceit' involved in shifting R K Dutta from CBI: Centre tells SC

Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi was critical of the arguments of lawyer Prashant Bhushan that there was malafide in shunting out Dutta from CBI.

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday rubbished the claim that senior IPS officer R K Dutta was shifted from CBI in a "malafide" manner.

The officer was overseeing probes in 2G and coal scams by the investigation agency.

The Centre told a Supreme Court bench on Friday that a committee, comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition will meet in December to select a new CBI director.

Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi was critical of the arguments of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing NGO 'Common Cause', that there was malafide in shunting out Dutta from CBI.

"This is not a service matter. Dutta is not before the court. Moreover, he has been transferred to a very sensitive post in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)," PTI quoted the Attorney General as saying.

He added that the power of transfer and posting cannot be decided by a petitioner in a PIL.

He also said that Dutta, who was the senior-most officer after the CBI director, did not have requisite number of years of service left to be considered for the top post in the agency.