CBI doesn’t need state consent for FIR against Centre officials: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has ruled that CBI doesn’t require permission from state governments to register an FIR against central government officials posted in different states. This decision reverses the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order quashing a CBI probe against two central government employees accused of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

“Irrespective of the place of posting, the aforesaid factual position would go onto show that they were central government employees/central government undertaking employees and allegedly committed serious offence under the PC Act, which is a central act,” a bench of Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice Rajesh Bindal said.

CBI had lodged FIRs against the central government employees working in Andhra Pradesh. However, the accused duo challenged CBI’s jurisdiction before the Andhra Pradesh High Court on the ground that the general consent granted to CBI under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 (DSPE Act) by the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh did not automatically extend to the newly formed state of Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation in 2014. The high court quashed the FIRs insisting a fresh consent from Andhra Pradesh was required.

However, writing the verdict for the bench, Justice Ravikumar disagreed with the high court’s interpretation, saying it erred in asking for a fresh state consent for CBI’s probe against central government employees.

“In such circumstances and in the light of the conclusion already arrived at, the terms of the provisions under circular memo dated May 26, 2014 all ‘laws’ applicable to the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh on June 1, 2014 would continue to apply to the new states, namely, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, despite the bifurcation of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh till such time they were altered, repealed or amended, the top court said.

The top court relied on a 1990 government order granting general consent to CBI and subsequent extensions of this consent in Andhra Pradesh to reverse the high court’s findings.

The top court ruled that CBI did not require the state government’s consent to register an FIR against a central government employee under a central law simply because the employee worked within the territory of a state as the offences in question were under a central legislation and involved central government employees.

The general consent granted by a state under the DSPE Act was sufficient for the CBI investigations involving central offences and state-specific formalities, such as a fresh consent, was not required, it said.