Telangana government bars CBI to investigate cases in State

The withdrawal of permission was viewed in the backdrop of frequent threats that the Central government was likely to field CBI against political rivals

The Telangana government has issued an order prohibiting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate cases in the State.

The order, dated August 30, which came to light on October 30, 2022 said the government has withdrawn consent to all members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act to exercise powers and jurisdiction under the Act in the State of Telangana.

The CBI is a Delhi Special Police Establishment which derives its powers under the said Act to investigate cases across the country but only with the consent of the concerned State governments. The Supreme Court and High Courts, however, could order CBI to investigate a crime anywhere in the country without the consent of the State governments.

The Telangana government had by a notification in an order of September 23, 2016, given consent to the CBI to exercise powers and jurisdiction under the Act in the State. Now, that consent stood cancelled as per the notification issued in the August 30 order.

The order read “consequent to the withdrawal of all previous general consents issued earlier, including the notification of September 2016, prior consent of government of Telangana shall be required to be taken on a case-to-case basis for investigation of any offence or class of offences by the Delhi Special Police Establishment in the State of Telangana”.

The withdrawal of permission for the CBI was viewed in the backdrop of frequent threats in political circles that the Central government was likely to field the premier investigating agency against its political rivals anytime.