New Delhi, October 26: Centre's midnight move to keep "institutional integrity" intact in the CBI has taken the premier agency's internal storm to the topmost courtroom. Outside, the Opposition turned heat on the Modi government, with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi courting his arrest as a mark of protest.

Gandhi, along with Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot, Ahmed Patel and CPI chief D Raja were kept in detention at the Lodhi Colony Police Station for nearly 50 minutes. Before courting arrest, Rahul Gandhi led a march of thousands of Opposition cadres from the Dyal Singh College on Lodhi Road to the CBI headquarters.

Reacting to the Opposition leaders' arrest, the ruling BJP accused the Congress of "staging theatrics" as they have "lost out on all major issues" to the government.

CBI Storm Reaches Supreme Court: Highlights

- The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra heard the petitions filed by CBI director Alok Verma's counsel and NGO Common Cause challenging his "ouster".

- The apex court gave two weeks time to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to complete its probe against Verma.

- The court has also asked the government to ensure the interim CBI chief Nageswara Rao sticks to the routine duty and refrains from taking major decisions. The case is next posted for hearing on November 12.

- CBI "number 2" Rakesh Asthana had also moved the top court with a petition challenging his removal. CJI Gogoi, however, dismissed the plea telling his counsel Mukul Rohatgi that "you have missed the bus". The bench questioned Rohatgi why Asthana did not challenge the government's order immediately -- as done by defence team of Verma.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, though defending the CVC's order sending Verma and Asthana on leave, welcomed the top court's intervention. "The Supreme Court's direction setting a two-week time frame would further strengthen the fairness criteria of the investigations...and the appointment of a retired judge would ensure a fair inquiry," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 26, 2018 05:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).