Madhya Pradesh govt’s new rule: CBI needs written consent to investigate state officials

The Madhya Pradesh government has issued an order stating that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will require written permission to proceed with inquiries against its “public servants”. The state government issued a notification in this regard on Tuesday, July 16. The order takes retrospective effect from July 1.

Home Department notice

The notification issued by the Home Department states, “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 (25 of 1946), no such investigation shall be taken up in cases relating to the public servants controlled by the government of Madhya Pradesh except with the prior written permission of the state government. "

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Thus, to conduct an investigation, the probe agency needs to seek consent from the state government, according to Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. The order further noted that all previous general consents for any other offences and consent accorded on a case-to-case basis for any other offence by the state government will remain effective.

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However, the state government said that no permission was needed to investigate central government officials or private individuals.

In order to ensure compliance with the new legal framework, this rule was necessary following the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Home Department sources informed NDTV. It is important to note that ‘Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’ is among three new criminal laws passed by the central government.

State home secretary Sanjay Dubey said, “This is an old provision in the state. The new notification has been released after the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhitha (new criminal laws) came into effect for smooth functioning,” reported HT.

Rules regarding CBI investigations in other states

Meanwhile, several states have withdrawn their general consent for CBI investigations including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Telangana, and Kerala. In 2020, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra revoked the general consent to the CBI. However, in November 2022, this order was overturned by the Eknath Shinde-led government.