CBI lawyer who committed suicide wanted to be posted out of Delhi to lessen work load

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) deputy legal advisor (DLA) Jitendra Kumar, who committed suicide on September 1, wanted to be transferred back to Chandigarh as he wasn’t able to cope with work pressure in Delhi and he also contemplated taking voluntary retirement, said people familiar with the matter.

The CBI spokesperson didn’t respond to queries in this regard.

Following his suicide, Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia alleged that Kumar was being brought under pressure to give approval for his arrest in the case registered against him over alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, a charge immediately denied by the anti-corruption agency.

The CBI said Sisodia’s claim was misleading as the DLA was not connected with the investigation of the excise case.

The agency said, “It is clarified that the gentleman officer, Late Shri Jitendra Kumar, was in no way connected with the investigation of this case. He was deputy legal advisor in-charge of prosecution, in which capacity he was supervising prosecutors who are conducting the trial of already chargesheeted cases in Delhi. Further, as per the Delhi Police, which is conducting the inquest into the death, the officer has not held anyone responsible for his death in his suicide note.”

Before being posted at the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) Delhi, Jitendra Kumar was working in the Chandigarh unit of the CBI and he was a native of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

“Kumar wanted to go back to Chandigarh. His second option was a posting in the Dehradun unit of The agency. He was not able to cope with work pressure in Delhi because of his already fragile mental state. But his transfer request remained pending for many months. He also discussed with his colleagues about seeking voluntary retirement from the agency but was given to understand that it might not get accepted,” said a person familiar with his discussions with his colleagues.

CBI sources say at any given time the DLA of the ACB, Delhi is supervising prosecution in hundreds of cases which naturally increases workload. Also the ACB, Delhi provides lawyers for prosecuting CBI cases to all other Delhi-based branches of the agency so Kumar’s work touched all Delhi-based.

Sources also concurred with the statement of the CBI that Kumar was not involved in legally vetting the probe against Manish Sisodia and others in the excise policy case as the investigation is yet to reach at a stage where legal vetting would have been necessary but they point out that his suicide is a wake-up call for the agency to fine-tune grievance redressal system.

“His plea for a transfer out of Delhi should have been addressed in a time-bound manner and sympathetically given his state of mind,” added the person quoted above.