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In order to avoid CBI-type of incidents, the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, laid out seven cardinal principles for the investigating agencies and said that investigators must remain faceless and resist the temptation of rushing to the media when a probe starts.
At an event on Tuesday at the Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Jaitley said that the DRI must endeavour to ‘become a near perfect organisation’.
“I use the word near because to err is human and we have to account for some margin of human error. But, in order to ensure that we achieve that utmost level of perfection which every investigative agency has to, there are a few cardinal principles we have to remember,” the Minister said while addressing the 61st foundation day of the apex intelligence and investigative agency for matters relating to violation of the Customs Act and smuggling.
The principles spelled out by Jaitley include the need for investigative agencies to maintain utmost level of professionalism and be guided by one sole purpose — detection of crime. The investigating officers, Jaitley said, have to make sure that no innocent is harmed or harassed, but at the same time they have to ensure that the guilty do not get away.
“They have to resist the temptation of making a lot of song and dance when the initial investigation starts and rushing to the media. They must, as professionals, concentrate on strengthening the investigative processes and evidence,” he said.
Stating that the real test of an investigative agency is whether the investigations ultimately result in penalties or convictions, Jaitley said the investigative officers have to be faceless.
He said the officer and his supervisor who take up a case must have a “sixth sense and a very high sense of professionalism” to make sure at the initial level whether the case deserves to be investigated and whether it would result in penalties and conviction. Further, he added that credibility of an institution depends on integrity and ethical standards as well as the degree of professionalism.
“If I look at the cross section of various investigative agencies, including the police, it goes to the credit of DRI that by and large it has remained free from any collateral controversies,” he said.
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