Is the CBI an independent agency or does it come under the control of the Union government?
Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, under which the CBI functions
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), functioning under Dept. of Personnel, Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Public Grievances, Government of India, is the premier investigating police agency in India.
The Supreme Court upheld the maintainability of the West Bengal government’s suit accusing the Union government of “constitutional overreach” by employing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register and investigate cases in the State despite its withdrawal of general consent
SC Bench recently said : The very establishment, exercise of powers, extension of jurisdiction, the superintendence of the DSPE [Act], all vest with the Government of India
Does the CBI need the permission of the State to carry out investigation in its territory?
Under Section 6 of the DSPE Act, the CBI is required to obtain consent from the concerned State government before initiating an investigation within its jurisdiction.
This permission is crucial since “police” and “public order” are subjects that fall within the State List under the seventh schedule of the Constitution.
However, no such prior consent is necessary in Union territories or railway areas.
General consent is given by States to facilitate the agency’s seamless investigation into corruption charges against Central government employees in their territories.
States that have withdrawn general consent to the central agency
However, since 2015, several States such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Meghalaya and West Bengal have revoked their general consent alleging that the Centre is misusing the federal agency to unfairly target the Opposition
The framers of the Constitution envisioned conflicts between the Centre and the States owing to the existing quasi-federal structure and dual polity.
As a result, they conferred original and exclusive jurisdiction upon the Supreme Court to address such disputes, under Article 131
For a suit to be maintainable under this provision, two conditions have to be satisfied —
it should relate to a dispute between the Government of India and one or more State Governments (or)
between one or more State Governments, and it must involve a question of law or fact crucial to the determination of legal rights.
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