Hon'ble Chief Justice of India Shri K G Balakrishnan
Director, CBI, Shri Ashwani Kumar,
Hon'ble Judges of the Supreme Court.
Hon'ble Judges of High Court of Delhi,
Secretaries to Govt. of India
Former Directors of CBI,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen;

          1. It gives me great pleasure to be here today as we pay homage to the memory of late Shri D.P.Kohli, the founder-Director of CBI. He was indeed a visionary police officer and gentlemen to the core. The systems established by him are largely responsible for the excellence that symbolizes CBI and the credibility it enjoys in public. It is an appropriate occasion for the Agency to honor and pay tributes to those who have guided and oriented the Agency in becoming a highly professional multi-disciplinary investigating agency of our country. I am very glad that I am once again able be amidst you all on this momentous occasion.

          2. CBI prides itself and, rightly so, to be the premier investigating agency of the country, capable of successfully investigating highly complicated and challenging crimes. It is possible only because of collective efforts by its officers and men - from the Director to the Constable as all good organizations prosper only because of team work. The dedication, sincerity and hard work that goes into solving complicated crimes is really laudable. And to celebrate that excellence, CBI has instituted awards for Best Detective Constable, Best Investigating Officer and Best Prosecuting Officer, which are given away every year. I congratulate all the award winners, who have received their awards a few minutes ago for their outstanding work. I am sure, they will serve as role models and motivate their other colleagues to perform even better.

          3. I took over the charge of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, just about a year back, but all along while in the Government or in Parliament, I have always admired the good work done by CBI under most trying circumstances. It will be the constant endeavor of the Government to provide all necessary wherewithals in terms of manpower, resources and legal support to CBI to meet its professional challenges.

          4. I have the special privilege to welcome the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India Shri K G Balakrishnan on this occasion. In his long and distinguished career as a judge, Shri Balakrishnan has set high standards for others to emulate. His landmark judgments, such as the one in respect of strikes organized by political parties have had a profound positive impact in society. Similarly, under the able guidance of Hon'ble Chief Justice, the introduction of computerization in court processes has also made delivery of justice more user-friendly. Mr. Chief Justice, Sir, we are honoured by your gracious presence. On behalf of everyone present here, I thank you for sparing your valuable time. I am sure, your advice and words of wisdom will benefit us all.

          5. The theme of this year's lecture is ‘Criminal Justice System- Growing Responsibility in the Face of Challenges in Modern Society". A good criminal justice system is a pillar for a healthy democracy. That India is a nascent but well-established and vibrant democracy is beyond any doubt and the credit for the same largely goes to an independent judiciary.

          6. The Criminal Justice System is facing a number of challenges today. It is often said that justice delayed is justice denied. While there can be no argument against a speedier justice delivery mechanism, and everything possible should be done to achieve this objective, we should be proud that we have not compromised on the quality of justice delivered. At the same time, we have enlarged the scope of fundamental freedoms and increased the space for democracy.

          7. Modern Society is undergoing changes at a pace never seen before. Factors such as Information and Communications Technology revolution have made the whole world a global transparent village where everyone has access to information on everything happenings around him and therefore constantly challenges what he perceives as being not right. Similarly, the phenomenon of terrorism has had a profound effect on lives of people and Governments requiring alternate and new strategies to counter the same. Economic liberalization, which has generated a lot of wealth for the nation, has also resulted in newer types of economic frauds. Similarly, the criminal Justice System also has to brace itself to the crimes resulting from newer technologies, such as Cyber Crimes and environmental crimes.

          8. However, corruption in our country is the limiting factor for faster development. Corruption is not a new challenge for us. Over four decades ago when Gunnar Myrdal wrote his famous book ‘The Asian Drama', he identified corruption as one of the constraints on development. He argued that corruption in public life had contributed to the Indian state being a "soft state", as he put it. The scale, the typology and the mechanisms of corruption may have changed, but the problem of corruption has not gone away. Corruption flourishes because of various reasons such as scarcity of goods and services; red tape and delays; lack of transparency in our systems; inefficacy of the criminal justice system and tribalism or brotherhood of the corrupt people to support each other. These causative factors need to be removed to minimize the scope of corruption. While at systemic level some attempts such as liberalization of economy; enactment of right to information; constitution of Administrative Reforms Commission, have been taken to address these causative factors, public servants of all categories have the legal and moral mandate to lead a life of probity and transparency. Above all, the law enforcement has to be fair and impartial but stringent so that the corrupt elements do not escape the clutches of law.

          9. The role of CBI and the Anti-Corruption Agencies in the elimination of corruption can hardly be over-emphasized. The CBI should deter by aggressively pursuing all cases against corrupt elements without fear or favour. People, processes, practices and institutions showing particular susceptibility and propensity for corruption should be spotted, isolated and methodically acted against to root out this malady. The CBI could suggest useful improvements in systems, procedures, rules and regulations of the concerned arms of governance which could help reduce the scope for corruption in our public life. The CBI also needs to modernize of its procedures, techniques and technologies for addressing the challenge of white collar and economic crimes. You should use your expertise, criminal investigative resources, and strong relationships with regulatory agencies to handle these crimes in order to maintain public confidence in the country's financial institutions and our financial markets.

          10. I am aware that no Agency can perform at an optimal level and produce the desired results unless the work-force is highly motivated and necessary training, infrastructure and technology is in place. I assure the CBI that the required resources will be placed at the disposal of the agency to achieve its organizational goals. I am sure, CBI under the guidance of the present Director Shri Ashwani Kumar, will set new standards in combating corruption and crime. I once again welcome the Hon'ble chief Justice a hearty welcome and wish the CBI all the success in achieving its objectives.

          Thank you,