Issue notice to Centre on Bengal plea against CBI probes: SC to Registrar
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that its registry will issue notice to the Centre on the lawsuit filed by the West Bengal government alleging that the CBI is going ahead with an investigation without securing the pre-requisite nod from the state under the law.
The Bengal government, in its original civil suit under Article 131 of the Constitution, has referred to the provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946 and said the central agency has been proceeding with investigations and filing FIRs without getting the nod from the state government as mandated under the statute.
Recently, the CBI has lodged multiple FIRs in cases of post-poll violence in West Bengal.
A Bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao said as per the Supreme Court Rules, notice has to be immediately issued by the Registry at the time of the filing of the suit.
"Why is this listed before the court. According to the Supreme Court Rules, notice has to be immediately issued by the Registry at the time of the filing of the suit. Why is it coming before the court? Unlike an SLP, the suit filed under Article 131 automatically notice has to go. Interim relief can only be heard only after issuance of notices. We cannot grant ex-parte stay. We will tell the Registry to issue notice," the Bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna, said.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, said the suit has been filed in wake of multiple FIRs being filed by the CBI and sought a stay.
The state government, in its plea, sought a stay of investigation in the FIRs lodged into post-poll violence cases by the CBI in pursuance of the Calcutta High Court order.
The plea added that as the general consent given to the central agency by the Trinamool Congress government has been withdrawn, the FIRs lodged cannot be proceeded with.
The suit, filed through advocate Suhaan Mukerji, also sought stay on any future FIR.
The state said that the CBI has no inherent jurisdiction to conduct a probe in any part of the state, including railway areas, till the time it obtains a prior sanction. Claiming that the agency has been exercising its powers in an "unconstitutional manner", the suit said the registration of cases by the CBI was an encroachment on the legal rights of the state.
The petition demands the annulment of all cases registered by the CBI and to restrain the agency from lodging any fresh cases.
The state government has filed the original civil suit under Article 131 of the Constitution under which the top court has original jurisdiction to deal with any dispute between the Centre and a state.
In the original suit, it has been said on behalf of the state that even after three years of withdrawing the general consent regarding registration of cases related to incidents in West Bengal, the CBI has lodged 12 cases.
The state government said that law and order and police have been constitutionally placed under the exclusive jurisdiction of the states. As such, the CBI registering cases is illegal because this violates the constitutionally distributed powers between the Centre and the states.
