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Republic of India - General consent’ for Central Bureau of Investigations

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November 17, 2018 01:07 IST
Updated: November 17, 2018 01:07 IST

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Andhra Pradesh on Friday withdrew the “general consent” granted to the Central Bureau of Investigation effectively curtailing the agency’s powers in the State without prior permission.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and all agencies under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, will now have to approach the State government for permission for investigation on a case by case basis.

Sources in the State Home Ministry said the general consent was routinely given for periods ranging from six months to a year, for several years now. The last such consent was given on August 3, 2018.

Notification issued

However, the State decided to withdraw this consent through a notification (GOMs no 176, Home Department) issued on November 8, 2018. This notification, which was kept confidential, was made public on Thursday night.

Deputy Chief Minister N. Chinarajappa, who also holds Home portfolio, said the withdrawal of general consent was in tune with suggestions made by legal experts and intellectuals in the light of serious allegations against the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Mamata follows suit

Shortly after Andhra Pradesh’s decision, the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government also decided to withdraw the “general consent”, a senior official at the State secretariat said in Kolkata said. The consent had been accorded to the Central Bureau of Investigation by the then Left Front government in 1989.

CBIJPG

Earlier, on Friday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended support to A.P. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on the issue.

Asked if there was a precedent of a State government taking back consent, Mr Chinarajappa cited the example of Karnataka in 1998.

Apparently, showing red flag to Central Bureau of Investigation is a political decision, seen in the context of relationship between Telugu Desam government and the BJP-led Centre turning sour and the recent Income Tax raids on prominent TDP MPs and leaders.

Of late Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu has been raised the issue of the central governnent misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation, I-T and Enforcement Directrate to target the BJP’s political rivals, citing the instances of IT raids on his party leaders. The government, TDP sources said, also wondered how the Central Bureau of Investigation could investigate a corruption case in any State when its two top most officers were trading charges against each other and had lost all its credibility.

A senior police officer however, said the decision was purely an administrative one taken in the context of law and order being a State subject that necessitated any Central investigation agency taking prior consent. “Earlier the consent was given routinely and now the Government thought instead of a blanket permission, it should be on the merit of each case”.

He said the State police was studying the feasibility of State’s Anti-Corruption Bureau taking over at least some functions of Central Bureau of Investigation.

General consent is the periodic approval by a State government to the Central Bureau of Investigation and other agencies covered by Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. The consent is necessary as the jurisdiction of these agencies is confined to Delhi and Union Territories under this Act.

Withdrawal of general consent may not have any bearing on the existing cases, ongoing investigations and the filing of charge sheets by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Andhra Pradesh, according to agency officials.

Although the Central Bureau of Investigation spokesperson on Friday said the agency was yet to get a certified copy of the order and examine it to determine further course of action, another official cited a Supreme Court judgment in Kazi Lhendup Dorji v. Central Bureau of Investigation & Ors (1994) to stress that it would not impact the already instituted cases.

In that judgment, the Supreme Court had held that: “An Order revoking an Order giving Consent under Section of the Act [Delhi Special Police Establishment Act], can only have prospective operation and would not affect matters in which action has been initiated prior to the issuance of the Order of Revocation.”

A retired senior Central Bureau of Investigation official said: “In the past, State governments have withdrawn their consents. This has happened in Nagaland several times and also in Karnataka for about eight years, due to which most of the Central Bureau of Investigation officials had to be transferred out and a skeletal staff was maintained there.”

In Karnataka, the J.H. Patel’s Janata Dal government had withdrawn the consent on December 15, 1998, and not renewed it for several years. Also, in late 70s, the Devaraj Urs government had also recalled the general permission for Central Bureau of Investigation probes.

“The withdrawal of general consent means that the Central Bureau of Investigation officers lose police powers under the Criminal Procedure Code in the State concerned and for registering each case, the agency has to seek a specific consent from the State government. As a result, it stalls registration of new cases,” said another official.

The Opposition reacted sharply to the TDP government's move. BJP spokesman and Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said the government’s decision amounted to a mala fide exercise of its executive power to extend political patronage to people and organisations involved in corruption and criminality.

YSRCP Political Advisory Committee (PAC) member Ambati Rambabu said the government was trying to prevent the CBI from entering the State because the TDP leaders are afraid that the truth about the attack on YSR Congress President Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy will come out.
 
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https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/p...bi-in-punjab-capt-amarinder-singh/684627.html
New Delhi, November 17

The Indian National Congress-led Punjab Government on Saturday scotched speculation around withdrawing the general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation in the state and said there was no such move yet.

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh said there was no such move yet and the decision in respect of the Central Bureau of Investigation consent to Indian National Congress-ruled states would be taken by party President of Indian National Congress Rahul Gandhi.

Punjab CM Amarinder Singh had met President of Indian National Congress Rahul Gandhi in the capital the day before but the issue of consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation wasn’t discussed.

The decision, Indian National Congress sources said, had political implications in the election season and would be taken by the party high command keeping all factors, including elections in MP, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram in mind.
 
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NEW DELHI , November 17, 2018 22:24 IST
Updated: November 17, 2018 22:25 IST

https://www.thehindu.com/news/natio...-cbi-action/article25527890.ece?homepage=true

The Supreme Court clarifies the position of law in Kazi Lhendup Dorji vs Central Bureau of Investigation, a reported decision of 1994. The court reasoned that the State government’s withdrawal should not be allowed to stall a pending case.

The withdrawal of ‘general consent’ by a State to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to exercise jurisdiction within its territory applies prospectively.

Hence, the notifications issued by the Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal governments, withdrawing consent, would not have a retrospective effect. That is, the States’ withdrawal of consent affects only prospectively.

The Supreme Court clarifies the position of law in Kazi Lhendup Dorji vs Central Bureau of Investigation, a reported decision of 1994. The court reasoned that the State government’s withdrawal should not be allowed to stall a pending case.

“The case should be allowed to reach its logical conclusion… notwithstanding the withdrawal of consent during pendency of investigation.” The Dorji principle was reiterated by the Delhi High Court in 2013.

The Dorji case dealt with a notification issued by the Sikkim government withdrawing consent to the CBI to investigate a corruption case against the then Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari.

No personal animus
Former Solicitor-General Mohan Parasaran interprets the Dorji decision, saying a consent once given cannot be later withdrawn by the State government. But Mr. Parasaran said the Dorji verdict may not apply in the current factual scenario.

“Mr. Chandrababu Naidu can argue that unlike Mr. Bhandari, whose pending CBI case provided him with a personal motive to withdraw consent, he [Mr. Naidu] does not have any CBI investigation against him. So, there is no personal motive. The factual scenario is entirely different,” Mr. Parasaran said.

Experts point out that if the States have the statutory power to give consent to the CBI under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, it is implicit that they can withdraw consent too.

In 1961, the Supreme Court in the Major E.G. Barsay judgment held that Section 6 was incorporated in the DSPE Act “only to maintain the federal structure of the nation”. The subject of “law and order” is the domain of the State government under Schedule 7 of the Constitution.

In Karnataka, the J.H. Patel government had withdrawn the consent on December 15, 1998, and it continued for several years. Also, in late 1970s, the Devaraj Urs government had recalled the general permission for CBI investigations.

However, the act of withdrawal of consent can be judicially reviewed, experts said. Besides, withdrawal of consent is no bar for a constitutional court to use its inherent and extraordinary powers to order a CBI investigation into individual cases for purpose of “delivery of complete justice”. “The withdrawal of general consent means CBI officers lose police powers under the Criminal Procedure Code in the State concerned and for registering a case,” said a CBI official. However, the CBI could continue to register new cases in other States, having links to the one in which the general consent has been rescinded.
 
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