The State Govt's consent is mandatory for a CBI investigation in its jurisdiction & the agency can't conduct probe without its nod, the Apex Court has said. A bench of Justice A M Khanwilkar & Justice B R Gavai said the provisions are in tune with the federal character of the Constitution, which has been held to be one of its basic structures.
The Supreme Court referred to sections 5 & 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, which deal with the extension of powers & jurisdiction of special police establishment to other areas & consent of State Govt to exercise of powers & jurisdiction.
The Bench said that "It could thus be seen, that though Section 5 enables the central government to extend the powers & jurisdiction of members of the DSPE beyond the Union Territories to a State, the same is not permissible unless a State grants its consent for such an extension within the area of State concerned under Section 6 of the DSPE Act".
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The Supreme Court's observation came on a plea filed by some accused, private & public servants, challenging the validity of the CBI investigation against them in a corruption case on the ground that prior consent was not taken from the State Govnt. The observation assumes significance as recently the Govts of Punjab, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Jharkhand & Chhattisgarh withdrew their "general consent" to the CBI.
The appeals challenged a judgment passed by the High Court of Allahabad in Aug 2019 against Fertico Marketing & Investment Private Limited & others. The HC had noted that the UP Govt had granted post-facto consent against the two public servants who were later named in the charge sheet & that it was sufficient for proceeding with the case.
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The Supreme Court rejected the appeal of the accused & said the state of UP had accorded a general consent for an extension of powers & jurisdiction of the members of DSPE in 1989 in the whole of the state under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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