GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 3rd Jan. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) does not require permission from state governments to register an FIR against Central government officials posted in various jurisdictions across states. This ruling came on January 2, overturning an earlier decision by the Andhra Pradesh High Court that had quashed CBI investigations against two Central government employees accused of corruption.
The bench, comprising Justices C.T. Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal, concluded that the CBI’s jurisdiction is not contingent on state consent when investigating Central government employees, as the offenses in question were under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act), a central law. The case arose from the CBI’s FIRs against the accused employees working in Andhra Pradesh. The employees had challenged the CBI’s jurisdiction, claiming that the general consent granted to the CBI by the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh did not extend to the newly formed state post-bifurcation.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court had sided with the accused, requiring a fresh consent from the state for CBI investigations. However, Justice Ravikumar, authoring a 32-page judgment, disagreed, stating that the state’s consent under the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, continued to apply to both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh after their bifurcation until any new provisions were introduced.
The Supreme Court emphasized that consent from a state government is not needed for CBI investigations into central offenses, particularly those involving Central government employees. The bench cited precedents, including a 1990 government order granting general consent for CBI investigations, to support its ruling. It concluded that the impugned judgment by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which had quashed the FIRs, was unsustainable.
The ruling ensures that the CBI can continue its investigation into corruption cases involving Central government officials without seeking state-specific approval, reaffirming the application of central laws even in state territories.
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