Supreme Court dismisses plea seeking PM affidavit on coal

The court also asked the government to pronounce its position on the CBI plea that its director should have the authority to appoint independent senior counsel to represent the agency before the courts.

However, Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran "strongly" opposed the CBI's plea on both the counts. "It goes against administrative spirit. It would send a wrong signal... it involves the checks and balances. CBI has been given a lot of power."

CBI refuted the claims.

"We are not asking for unaccountable power. We are accountable to government. This is to get past some red tape. When a large number of bureaucratic controls will go, it will improve functional efficacy," senior counsel Amarendra Saran, appearing for the CBI, told the court.