3 hrs ago
Bihar Expands CBI Powers While Retaining State Approval
Bihar has changed the rules for when the CBI can investigate cases in the state.
The CBI can now investigate more types of cases involving Central government workers and Central public companies without asking Bihar each time.
It can also investigate private people who are involved in those cases.
But the CBI still needs permission before investigating Bihar government workers or organizations controlled or funded by Bihar.
The new rules cover several criminal laws, cybercrime and corruption cases.
This creates two different sets of rules for investigations.
A Bihar police official said the order tries to balance wider CBI powers with state control.
A CBI officer said the change may give the agency more power.
Courts can still order a CBI investigation without state permission, according to a Patna High Court advocate.
Bihar has expanded the CBI’s standing consent to investigate specified offences involving Central government employees, Central PSUs and private individuals.
The September 3 notification covers offences under new criminal laws, the Information Technology Act, cybercrime and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Investigations involving Bihar government employees and bodies owned, controlled or financially aided by the state still require prior state consent.
The order establishes a two-tier system, allowing automatic CBI jurisdiction in some cases while retaining case-by-case approval in others.
A police officer called the order a balance, while a CBI officer said it could give the agency greater investigative scope.
- Who
- The Bihar government, the Central Bureau of Investigation, Central government employees, Central PSUs, private individuals and Bihar government-linked officials and institutions.
- What
- Bihar issued a notification expanding the CBI’s standing consent for certain investigations while retaining prior state approval for cases involving Bihar government-linked personnel and bodies.
- Where
- Bihar, India.
- When
- The Home Department notification was issued on September 3; the year is not specified in the article.
- Why
- To regulate and expand the CBI’s investigative jurisdiction in Bihar under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
Broader CBI jurisdiction
Bihar state oversight
Effect of the notification
Broader CBI jurisdiction
The CBI officer described the order as potentially giving the agency a bigger scope of investigation and possibly setting a precedent for other states.
Bihar state oversight
The Bihar police headquarters officer said the order balances expanded CBI access with a requirement for state permission in cases involving Bihar’s own officials and institutions.
Cases involving state officials
Broader CBI jurisdiction
The broader standing consent could expand the CBI’s role in cases that had previously been within the state’s investigative prerogative, according to the police officer’s description.
Bihar state oversight
The notification expressly requires prior Bihar government consent and case-by-case consideration for investigations involving Bihar government public servants and state-linked bodies.
Limits on state consent
Broader CBI jurisdiction
The CBI’s standing authority applies to specified cases involving Central government employees, Central PSUs and private individuals implicated alongside them.
Bihar state oversight
The state retains control over executive CBI investigations involving Bihar officials and state-controlled or state-aided entities, although courts may independently order CBI probes.
Key facts
- Issuing department
- Bihar Home Department
- Chief minister named
- Samrat Choudhary
- Notification date
- September 3
- Legal basis
- Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946
- Cases covered
- Offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023; the Information Technology Act, 2000; cybercrime; and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended
- Prior state approval
- Required for investigations involving Bihar government employees and corporations, companies, banks or institutions owned, controlled or financially assisted by the Bihar government
- Judicial authority
- The article says high courts and the Supreme Court can order CBI investigations without state government consent
Quotes
A Bihar police headquarters officer
An officer in Bihar’s police headquarters who characterized the notification.
“Bihar might well have set a precedent for other states to follow and allow CBI a bigger scope of Investigation. The order, if read between the lines, would tell that it is more about giving CBI more powers and less about restricting them.”
indianexpress.com
“The first part of it allows the CBI to investigate cases which were the prerogative of the state. The second part of the order tries to balance it out by saying that the state’s permission would be required.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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