CBI gets general consent to probe criminal cases

A senior official from the chief minister’s office said that the agency won’t require clearance from the state to investigate criminal cases

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has given general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to start probes in criminal cases without taking clearance from the state government, a senior official from the chief minister’s office confirmed.

“The state government has given general consent to the CBI to conduct criminal investigations. A communication will be sent to the Central investigation agency to this effect,” the senior official, who did not wish to be named, said.

The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis-led coalition government,which came to power after the Shiv Sena split in June, rescinded the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s decision taken two years ago to withdraw general consent granted to the CBI under section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.

In March, the Rajya Sabha was informed that the CBI was unable to start investigations in 101 cases of bank fraud totalling over ₹20,000 crore, due to the want of consent by the Maharashtra government.

“[The move] clearly means they want to give a free hand to the CBI to go after opposition leaders and suppress their voices. However, the misuse of central agencies has been going on for the last eight years,” said Arif Naseem Khan, vice president, Maharashtra Congress.

The MVA had withdrawn general consent in October 2020 following a widely-held view among the coalition’s constituents that central investigation agencies, including the CBI, were being used by the BJP-led Union government to target opposition leaders in states.

Since 2015, eight non-BJP headed states including Punjab, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Meghalaya have withdrawn general consent granted to CBI.

This means that the central investigating agency had to either seek specific permission from the state government or approach the courts to investigate any matter.

In Maharashtra, several leaders from the MVA parties including Anil Deshmukh, Nawab Malik, Sanjay Raut, and Eknath Khadse are facing investigation by multiple central agencies over charges of graft.

The move clearly means they want to give a free hand to the CBI to go after opposition leaders and suppress their voices

ARIF NASEEM KHAN, vice president, Maharashtra Congress