According to Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946 (DSPE), the CBI needs the consent of the respective state governments to conduct investigations in their jurisdictions.
Nine states including West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Meghalaya have withdrawn their general consent for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate cases within their jurisdiction.
RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari told PTI that the way central agencies are being misused to target BJP’s political rivals, the grand alliance government of Bihar must withdraw the consent given to CBI.
“Furthermore, the option should also be explored by the state government to approach the judiciary to check the misuse of central agencies,” he said.
“I have to say that the central investigative agencies have lost their credibility under the NDA regime,” he said.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) says the time has come to withdraw general consent to the CBI.
“How central agencies such as CBI, ED and Department of Income Tax are being misused to ruin the image of opposition leaders, the people of Bihar are watching, and they will give an answer appropriate at the appropriate time,” said Minister of State Madan Sahni of JD(U).
CPIML(L) MP Mehboob Alam claimed there was no doubt that central agencies were being misused by the Center to destabilize non-BJP governments in the states.
“All central investigative agencies work with political motives and never act against BJP leaders. Our grand alliance government in Bihar should immediately withdraw the blanket consent given to the CBI, reducing the powers of the agency in the state,” he said.
CPI(M) MP Ajay Kumar has also said that the Bihar government should immediately withdraw its consent to the CBI. Bihar Congress Spokesman Rajesh Rathore said no action by the agencies could be seen against the BJP leaders.
“The NDA government at the Center is dictatorial and they are trying to suppress opposition voices using central agencies. This should stop now and the Bihar government must withdraw its consent to the CBI,” he said.
On condition of anonymity, a senior RJD official said the Bihar government had started working to withdraw the consent given to the CBI.
The grand alliance or ‘Mahagthbandhan’ in Bihar comprises seven parties – JD(U), RJD, Congress, CPIML(L), CPI, CPI(M) and HAM, which together have over 160 MPs in the 243-person assembly .
On Wednesday, the CBI raided the premises of several RJD leaders in Bihar in connection with the alleged land-for-jobs scam that took place when Lalu Prasad was minister of railways. The operation took place on a day when the chief minister, who split from the BJP to ally himself with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), was facing a vote of confidence in the state assembly.
Under the provision of Section 6 of the PSDE Act of 1946, some State Governments have granted general consent to the CBI for the investigation of a specific category of offenses against specific categories of persons, allowing the CBI to record and investigate these specified matters.
Mizoram, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Jharkhand, Punjab and Meghalaya either withdrew or did not give broad consent for the CBI to investigate the cases, according to the response of the minister. In states where general consent has not been granted or where general consent does not cover the particular case, specific consent from the state government is required under Section 6 of the PSDE Act of 1946.
It is only when the consent of the state government is received that the extension of the jurisdiction of the CBI under the provisions of Section 5 of the DSPE Act 1946 can be considered.
The Supreme Court and High Courts also refer investigative or investigative matters to the CBI and in such cases there is no requirement for notification of consent under Section 5 or 6 of the CBI. DSPE law of 1946.