Meghalaya becomes 1st NDA-ruled state to withdraw general consent to CBI for probing cases

In a significant development, the Meghalaya government withdrew the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe cases in the state. This was revealed by the officials of the central agency while appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice on the subject of demand for grants for 2022-23. While 8 opposition-ruled states- Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, and Mizoram had withdrawn general consent to the CBI, Meghalaya became the first NDA government to do so.

At present, Conrad Sangma is running a coalition government in the state along with BJP, UDP, PDF and HSPDP. Reportedly, the CBI officials informed the parliamentary panel that states are stonewalling the probe into cases even involving bank fraud, cheating, forgery and misappropriation of funds. Moreover, they claimed that the functioning of the central agency has been impacted as it has to seek permission to probe any case in the aforesaid states, thus making it a time-consuming affair.

What is 'general consent' granted to CBI?

The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act mandates that the CBI has to seek the permission of the state government before commencing an investigation of a crime in that state. General consent is normally given by all states to facilitate the CBI to conduct a seamless investigation into cases of corruption against central government employees in the concerned state. However, if this consent is withdrawn, the central agency shall have to seek the concerned state government's permission to register any fresh case pertaining to the jurisdiction of the state. 

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Meghalaya Assembly session on Friday, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma defended the move. He opined, "It is a normal thing...Many states have taken this decision and it is aligned with that. Anybody who comes in here has to take consent from the state. That's all. It is a normal procedure". 

On November 8, 2021, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices SK Kaul and MM Sundresh stated that it is "not a desirable position" that 78% of the requests sent by the CBI from 2018 to June 2021 to 8 states for grant of specific consent for investigation of cases were pending. It pointed out that these cases mainly relate to bank frauds of high magnitude impacting the economy of the country. Moreover, the apex court observed that this issue needs to be addressed. 

(With PTI inputs)

Image: PTI