Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said government will look "promptly" in the legality issue of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raised by the Gauhati High Court.

 

 

 "Some questions have come up recently about the legality of the CBI. Our government will look into this matter seriously and promptly," the prime minister said here at the conference of CBI and State Anti Corruption Bureau on Common Strategies to Combat Corruption and Crime.

 

 "This is a matter that undoubtedly has to be considered also by the highest court in the land," he added.

 

 He also assured that the government will do "all that is necessary" to establish the "legitimacy" of the CBI, and "protect its past and future".

 

 A division bench of the Gauhati High Court last week questioned the validity of India's premier investigating agency, saying that it was legally not a police force.

 

 The Supreme Court Nov 9 stayed the Gauhati High Court's order declaring the CBI unconstitutional and fixed Dec 6 as the next date of hearing.