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Andhrawala Legend Username: Andhrawala Post Number: 72757 Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 152.51.56.1 Rating: N/A |
Andhra Pradesh Bars CBI Officials From Entering State, Carrying Out Probe Without Informing Govt In the absence of permission, the CBI cannot interfere with any case that takes place within the limits of AP any more. The state government cited lack of confidence in the CBI after its officials were accused in recent scams Can AP Do This? Most States have given, what is called a 'general consent', to the central government for investigation of complaints of corruption against central staff. This implies that CBI need not require prior consent in each case and it can go ahead with investigation into complaints as and when received without referring them to the state for consent. Similarly, this general consent that was given by Andhra Pradesh has now been revoked. But with Andhra Pradesh now revoking its consent, all CBI probes will be hampered in the state. But the legality of the government’s decision is still not clear. Section 5 of the DSPE Act extends the powers and jurisdiction of special police establishment, including CBI, to other areas. But section 6 says that section 5 shall not be deemed to enable any member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise powers and jurisdiction in a state without the consent of the government of that state. In October 11, 2018, the issue had come up before the Delhi High Court as the CBI challenged if there was a need for prior sanction from the Chhattisgarh government to investigate an offence in the state. The Delhi High Court ruled that CBI need not seek the state’s consent, except when the case is registered in that state. The Bench comprising Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Vinod Goel explained, “Provisions of the DSPE Act is to facilitate the CBI in carrying out its investigations. It would, therefore, be counter-intuitive if the task of the CBI is frustrated beyond the point of practicality. If in every such case the investigation is stalled because of the absence of sanction of a particular State other than the State where the case is registered, then the scheme of Sections 5 and 6 of the DSPE Act and their purpose would be defeated.” In January this year, the Supreme Court had agreed to examine a plea of the CBI seeking a clarification on the nature of sanction needed from a state government for conducting any inquiry or investigation into an offence in the state. The agency challenged a limited part of the order of the Delhi High Court passed in the case of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh on March 31, 2017, in which it had said that the consent issue will be adjudicated by the trial court. Additional Solicitor General PS Narasimha, appearing for the CBI, had said that the agency has challenged only the limited issue of consent in the high court verdict. The high court had stated that the matter be decided at the time of the trial. The CBI has said that section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, does not talk about the nature of consent and, therefore, it needs a clarification on the issue as it would affect its power to investigate cases. No Signature |