Alluding to government interference in sensitive cases, CBI director Alok Verma, in a petition in Supreme Court, challenged the government order that divested him of all charges early on Wednesday, saying it was illegal and had bypassed a high-powered committee. The bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said Verma’s plea would be taken up on October 26 after his counsel pressed for an urgent hearing on the order issued against him following an escalation of rift between the top officials at the agency over bribery charges.