The issue of muslim persecution at the hands of the intelligence agencies is not new in India ever since the time of Independence. The intelligence agencies (external and internal) of India have been secretly infiltrated with individuals with a fascist bent of mind who belong to a secret society and time and again have indulged in excess much to the destruction of the constitution of the country. It was only when former Inspector General of Police (IGP) S.M. Mushrif penned his bestseller ‘ Who Killed Karkare ‘ that the countrymen came to know about the functioning of the ultra secretive IB and it machinations.
We at BeyondHeadlines would republish all the articles related to the intelligence agencies of the country with the aim of making the citzens aware about its role and functions and how there is an urgent need for it to be made accountable to the parliament and the people of the country. There is a dearth of literature on this crucial subject still considered a taboo. Our portal has decided to take up the said issue of accountability of intelligence agencies for the cause of nation building and service to the country. Some of the articles which will be published from time to time are old while a few are new and some will be of vintage value. Just like how the intelligence agencies around the world have been made accountable to their respective parliaments, the situation in India is different as most law makers themselves are not aware of the functioning of the secret services and do not understand their manipulations. The portal invites articles on the specific issue of accountability agencies which entails bringing them under the framework of the constitution and will ensure that they are published in the larger national interests. –Editor
No whereofs to it?
- A PIL filed in and admitted by the Karnataka High Court asks if the IB is “extra-constitutional”
- The IB hasn’t been constituted under an Act of Parliament, does not have a charter of duties
- The British set it up in 1887
- The court has served notices on the home ministry and the IB
Is the Intelligence Bureau (IB) really “extra-constitutional” and “illegitimate”? After all, it’s described as a major constituent of our internal security apparatus. R.N. Kulkarni, who served in the IB for over three decades and retired as joint assistant director, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Karnataka High Court questioning the agency’s legitimacy. The court has admitted the petition and served notice on the Union home ministry and the IB. It comes up for hearing on July 11.
Kulkarni’s main contention is that the IB exists in a constitutional vacuum—that it hasn’t been set up under an Act of Parliament, has no charter of duties, no framework of policies, no rules and regulations relating to personnel, recruitment, training, promotion and transfers. If the IB can at all be said to draw legitimacy, it is from an executive order of the British government, dated December 1887, issued primarily to check dacoity in central India. Kulkarni’s PIL says: “Even under the Government of India Act, 1935, the IB was not recognised as an intelligence agency in the Federal List…. The IB continued to function under the rickety auspices of an administrative order. Intriguingly, even upon commencement of the Constitution of India on October 26, 1950, the IB continued to be sui generis and sans any constitutional or statutory identity.”
Kulkarni also points out a fundamental confusion: is the IB a civilian or a police set-up? In 1980, an affidavit from the Union home ministry to the Supreme Court said that IB staffers were civilians. A similar affidavit was submitted in 1981. But the Fifth Pay Commission equated the IB with the CBI and other central police organisations. Adding to the confusion is the fact that IB top brass are often drawn from the IPS. The present director, Nehchal Sandhu, is also from the IPS. “It’s absurd to contend that an organisation made up substantially of IPS officers could be governed by civil service rules,” says Kulkarni.
The legally amorphous existence of the IB, Kulkarni contends, has major implications for national security and the rights of citizens, for the IB enjoys sweeping powers without accountability and transparency. Its secret fund of over Rs 100 crore is quite often utilised in the most bizarre fashion. “A lot of untold crimes take place in the name of secrecy,” says Kulkarni.
As a spy agency, he says, the IB is entitled to operational secrecy, but it should have a charter. Some of the world’s finest intelligence agencies that operate in democratic countries have stringent frameworks, so why shouldn’t the IB have one, Kulkarni asks, and blames the absence of a clear-cut charter for professional lapses. Perhaps intelligence failures like Kargil and the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai could have been averted. Aditya Sondhi, Kulkarni’s lawyer, who studied the case for six months before approaching the court, told Outlook: “We’ve sought a positive direction from the court. We haven’t said the IB should be declared unconstitutional. All we want is clarity on its legal status. And we also want it to be regulated. We hope this PIL will lead to reforms in our intelligence agencies.”
The questions raised in the PIL will also perhaps have implications for the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s external intelligence agency, which is also not accountable to Parliament. As things stand, many of those who served with RAW, besides independent intelligence experts, have been strongly recommending that this agency too be made accountable. (Courtesy: outlookindia.com)
