The Supreme Court has said that the approval of the state government is not necessary to register a case against a central government employee working in a state. If CBI is registering a case against such an employee under any central law, then it can do it even without taking the approval of the state government.
The Supreme Court has given this decision on the appeal of CBI against a decision of Andhra Pradesh High Court. The High Court has booked A., an officer of the Central Excise Department working in Nandyal (Kurnool) district of Andhra Pradesh. CBI investigation in two bribery cases against Satish Kumar was cancelled. These cases were registered under the central law Prevention of Corruption Act.
High Court’s decision
The accused had argued before the High Court that the general consent to investigate the CBI was given by the government of undivided Andhra Pradesh in 1990. In 2014, the state was divided into two parts – Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. After the bifurcation of the state, the general consensus obtained under the Delhi Police Special Establishment (DSPE) Act 1946 has lapsed. Accepting this argument, the High Court canceled the CBI FIR.
Supreme Court’s reasoning
While giving its verdict on the appeal of CBI, the Supreme Court bench headed by Justice CT Ravikumar has rejected the argument of the accused. The Supreme Court has said that the laws applicable in undivided Andhra Pradesh will remain applicable to both the states formed after division until the state government changes them. Also, this case is against a Central Government employee. The allegation has also been made under the Central Law (Prevention of Corruption Act). In such a situation, CBI did not need the approval of the state government to register the case.
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