SHILLONG, March 6: Senior advocate of the High Court of Meghalaya, VGK Kynta on Sunday said the heat generated by the Central Bureau of Investigation vis-à-vis probes into various scams and offences might have compelled the state government to withdraw the general consent to the investigative agency.
A reason could also be the ongoing prosecution in cases pending before the special court of the CBI, he felt.
“Be that as it may, the timing of the report is perhaps more than meet the eye when related issues have surfaced concerning illegalities and scams, not to speak of illegal coal mining that has contributed to the degradation of the environment,” Kynta said.
He said it appears that the government was advised to clip the wings of the CBI by withdrawing consent in order to circumvent or thwart criminal repercussions.
“At the end, no government of the day can stop the long arm of the law [judiciary] including the conscious citizens,” he added.
He stated that Meghalaya, pursuant to Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, accorded sanction or consent to members empowered under the said Act to investigate offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and offences relating to attempts, abetment and conspiracies in relation to or in connection with one or more of the offences mentioned in the Act of 1988 and any offence or offences committed in the course of the same transaction arising out of the same facts vide notification number POL.139/72/148, dated April 28, 1989. Pointing out that the CBI’s power to investigate cases are derived from the 1946 Act and from records this agency traces its origin when the Special Police Establishment was set up in 1941 during World War II, he said: “I agree that it is the prerogative of the state government to give or not to give consent under Section 6 of the 1946 Act and for that matter, it can also withdraw the notification of April 28, 1989.”
“But by withdrawing the consent, the state government exposes itself to public glare and scrutiny and questions are being heard at every nook and corner,” he added.
Meghalaya became the ninth state to withdraw the general consent to the CBI for probes conducted within their territorial limits.
The CBI, which is governed by The Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, must obtain a state government’s consent before investigating a crime there. The consent can be either case-specific or general. States normally give general consent. In the absence of general consent, the agency has to apply to the state government in each case.