Soon after a similar decision by the Kerala government, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren added to the growing list of several non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states that have withdrawn the ‘general consent’ to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Now the CBI will have to take Jharkhand government’s permission before it begins investigating any case in the state, they will have to seek fresh consent for each new case.
An order has been issued by the Government of Jharkhand to the members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to withdraw consent to use powers and jurisdiction in the state under a law.#CBI There will no longer be a consensus for the use of powers and jurisdiction in Jharkhand 1/2
Which was given under an order issued by the Government of Jharkhand (erstwhile Bihar) on 19 February 1996. Now CBI will have to take permission of the state government to investigate any case. 2/2
जो झारखण्ड सरकार (तत्कालीन बिहार) द्वारा 19 फरवरी 1996 को जारी एक आदेश के तहत दी गई थी। अब सीबीआई को किसी भी मामले की जांच के लिए राज्य सरकार की अनुमति लेनी होगी। 2/2
— Office of Chief Minister, Jharkhand (@JharkhandCMO) November 5, 2020
As reported earlier, general consent is accorded to the CBI to exercise its powers under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. Under Section 6 of the Act, all states except Delhi and the Union Territories have the discretion to give their consent to the for a probe in the state. Except in Delhi, Law and Order, including the police are under state governments’ purview.
On October 21, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray withdrew a blanket consent given to the CBI to investigate cases in the state. On November 4, the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, followed the footsteps of his counterpart in Maharashtra.
Now it is the Jharkhand government, whose November 5 order stated: “The powers vested on CBI were given dated 19th February 1996 by the erstwhile then Bihar Govt to CBI… the governments of West Bengal, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and earlier Mizoram had recently withdrawn the general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a kind of blanket nod for the agency to probe scheduled offences specified in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DPSE) Act, 1946.” Jharkhand government is a coalition of the JMM, Congress and the RJD, and defeated the BJP in December 2019.
The list of states who revoked the blanket consent is now: Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra Rajasthan, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. All of these states have non-Bharatiya Janata Party governments. However, as reported by The Scroll, the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government reversed the decision after it was elected to power in Andhra Pradesh.
Related:
Kerala Govt withdraws blanket consent to CBI for probes in state
Uddhav Thackeray withdraws consent; CBI can’t just swoop in any more