SC Will Pronounce Judgment On Wednesday On Maintainability Of WB Suit Against CBI Misuse

On May 8, the Supreme Court reserved the judgment on the suit filed by the West Bengal government against the Union government challenging cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) despite the withdrawal of the general consent in 2018.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Wednesday will pronounce its judgment on the maintainability of an original suit filed by West Bengal against Centre challenging cases filed by CBI despite the withdrawal of general consent way back in 2018. On May 8, the apex court had reserved the judgment on the suit filed by the West Bengal government.

During the hearing on May 8, the apex court had shot a volley of probing questions at Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, on which authority was responsible for enforcing the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, under which the CBI was constituted and the agency operates.

During the intense hearing, a point was reached, when Mehta said: "I never knew such a question would come?", and the court replied, “We are entitled to ask the most absurd of the questions”.

The apex court was hearing an original suit filed by West Bengal against the Centre, challenging a spree of cases filed by the CBI despite the state government, in November 2018, withdrawing the "general consent" accorded to the CBI to conduct a probe or carry out raids in the state.

Mehta had submitted before a bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) never registers a case and it's only a cadre controlling authority.

The West Bengal government had filed an original suit against the Centre under Article 131 of the Constitution, alleging that the CBI has been filing FIRs and proceeding with its investigation, despite the state having withdrawn the general consent to the federal agency to probe cases within its territorial jurisdiction.