General Consent for CBI

• Tamil Nadu announced that it has withdrawn the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

GENERAL CONSENT OF CBI

• The CBI is governed by The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, and it must mandatorily obtain the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime in a state.
• General consent is normally given by states to help CBI to conduct a seamless investigation of corruption cases against central government employees in their states. This essentially means consent by default and CBI may begin investigations into a case in a state with the premise that consent has been already given to it.
• Consent given to the CBI can come in two forms – either case specific or general. In the first form, the CBI has to apply for consent on a case-by-case basis and can’t act before the consent is given.
• In the absence of general consent, CBI would have to apply to the state government for its consent in every individual case, and before taking even small actions.

WHY IS CONSENT NEEDED?

• The CBI is governed by the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DPSEA). Under this law, the CBI is a special wing of the Delhi Police and hence, its original jurisdiction is restricted to the Capital.
• Therefore, the CBI must mandatorily obtain the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime in a state.
• Many states have alleged that the central government was using the CBI to unfairly target the opposition.

IMPLICATIONS OF WITHDRAWAL OF GENERAL CONSENT

• No registration of fresh cases: Withdrawal of general consent also means that the CBI will not be able to register any fresh case involving central government officials or private persons in a particular state without prior permission of that state government.
• Loss of power: CBI officers will lose all powers of a police officer as soon as they enter the state unless the state government has allowed them.
• States that have withdrawn the general consent – Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Jharkhand, Punjab and Meghalaya.

ABOUT THE CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (CBI)

• It is the premier investigating police agency in India. It has its origin in the Special Police Establishment set up in 1941 to probe bribery and corruption during World War II. Later, it was set up by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1963 after Santhanam committee recommendation.
• The CBI is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Public Grievances, Government of India.
• It is also the nodal police agency in India, which coordinates investigations on behalf of Interpol Member countries.
• The CBI is different from the National Investigation Agency, which has jurisdiction all over the country.

PARLIAMENTARY PANEL RECOMMENDS NEW LAW TO DEFINE POWER, FUNCTIONS OF CBI

• Highlighting withdrawal of general consent for CBI probe by many States, a Parliamentary Committee has said that an existing law governing the federal probe agency has “many limitations” and there is a need to enact a new legislation to define its status, functions and powers.
• The federal probe agency was established in It is governed by the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, enacted to regulate the functioning of the special police establishment set up in 1941 to investigate cases of bribery and corruption involving purchases and supplies during World War II.
• The department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice said that according to the provisions of the DSPE Act, the consent of the State government is a prerequisite for any investigation by the CBI and as on date, nine States have withdrawn the general consent.
• The panel said that vacant posts in the CBI are not being filled up at the required pace and recommended that “every effort should be made to fill up vacancies at the earliest”.
• A total of 1,709 posts are vacant in the CBI against its sanctioned strength of 7,295.
• The panel further recommended that the Director of CBI should monitor the progress made in filling up of vacancies on a quarterly basis and take necessary measures to ensure that the organisation is sufficiently staffed.
• The Committee is of the opinion that in this age of transparency, every public authority should strive to proactively disclose the data available with it or held by it in public domain to the extent possible.