With barely 24 hours to go before exiled CBI Chief Alok Verma’s petition against the Union of India and the central investigating agency is heard in the Supreme Court, the country’s central investigating agency seems to have pulled off a move thereby which Verma’s plea might not hold water in the courtroom come Friday.

On Thursday evening, the CBI announced that Verma—irrespective of being stripped of his powers and having been sent on forced leave since Tuesday—would still retain the post of Director in the CBI. At the same time, his deputy Rakesh Asthana, who was also sent on leave along with his boss, would retain his post of Special Director.

Now, given this last-minute unprecedented development, Verma’s petition challenging the government decision to take away his powers and send him on forced leave sounds paradoxical; how can a petition be heard against the government for removing the CBI chief when the CBI itself has come out on the front-foot and announced that Alok Verma will still be heading the country’s central investigating agency?

Ever since the top two of the CBI were sent on forced leave since Tuesday, M Nageswar Rao has been appointed as interim director of the CBI.

In his petition, Verma states: “After the appointment of Rakesh Asthana as Special Director (CBI) despite the pendency of cases against him and the reservations in this regard, decisions that were crucial to the progress of certain investigations were stymied by Mr Asthana alone. Many of these concerned sensitive cases…”

The petition also cites, in a nutshell, the “three rapid-fire decisions” that were taken on the fateful on October 23 when both Verma and Asthana were sent on leave.

Update: In its Friday hearing, the SC said that the inquiry against Chief Alok Verma, who has been accused of corruption by his deputy special Director Rakesh Asthana, will be completed within ten days.