SHILLONG, March 4: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday downplayed the withdrawal of consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) even as Opposition leader Mukul M Sangma vowed to look into the circumstances leading to this decision.
“It is a normal thing and many states in the country have done it,” the chief minister said.
Meghalaya withdrew consent to CBI for investigating cases in the state a long time ago. There is nothing new in this, he added.
The CBI is governed by The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, and it must mandatorily obtain the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime in that state.
General consent is normally given by states to help the CBI in the seamless investigation of cases of corruption against central government employees in their states. This is consent by default, in the absence of which the CBI would have to apply to the state government in every case, and before taking even small actions.
Withdrawal of consent to the CBI will not affect those cases already being investigated by the agency.
Mizoram was the first state in India to withdraw consent to the CBI in 2015 and was followed by seven more states — Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Meghalaya.
