GS Paper - II
The Karnataka government withdrew its general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is instrumental in the central agency conducting investigations in the states. Karnataka is among the eight states that have withdrawn general consent for the CBI, with all others (such as Punjab, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu).
What is general consent to the CBI?
- The CBI is governed by The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, which mandates that the agency must obtain the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime in a state.
- The CBI’s position is in this respect different from that of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is governed by The NIA Act, 2008, and has countrywide jurisdiction.
- Further, the state government’s consent can be either case-specific or general. Giving general consent would lead to the seamless investigation of corruption cases against central government employees in their states.
- This is consent by default, in the absence of which the CBI would have to apply to the state government in every case, and before taking even small actions.
- Additionally, the CBI will not be able to register any fresh case involving central government officials or a private person in the state without the state government’s consent.
- However, some avenues remain available to the CBI to proceed even without general consent, thanks to certain previous court rulings.
- For instance, in an order passed on 11 October 2018, Delhi High Court ruled that the agency could probe anyone in a state that has withdrawn general consent, if the case was not registered in that state.
- The order came on a case of corruption in Chhattisgarh — the court said that since the case was registered in Delhi, the CBI did not require prior consent of the Chhattisgarh government.
