'CBI top bosses were fighting like Kilkenny cats'

Karnataka Congress members protest in front of CBI's regional office in Bangalore In Oct. Pic/ AFP

The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the fight between two top officers of the CBI - Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana - in public exposed the premier probe agency to ridicule.

Attorney General K K Venugopal told a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that the fight between the two officers impacted the image of the CBI. The Centre's main aim was to see that confidence of the public in this premier institution is restored, he said.

" Dispute between CBI director and special director was pulling down integrity and respect of the premier institution," he told the bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph.

Agencies Karnataka Congress members protest in front of CBI's regional office, in Bangalore in Oct. PIC/ AFP ‘ Two top officers, Alok Kumar Verma and Rakesh Asthana, were fighting against each other and went public which exposed CBI to ridicule. If the government had not intervened, only God knows where and how this fight between the two top officers would have ended' - Supreme Court