Telangana Govt Withdraws 'General Consent' Granted To CBI To Investigate Cases In The State

The Government of Telangana has withdrawn the 'general consent' granted to the CBI [under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act] to investigate cases in the state. This means that the CBI will now have to take permission from the State government to investigate cases in the state on a case-to-case basis.

With this, Telangana has become the ninth state to withdraw the general consent to the CBI for investigation. Earlier, Meghalaya and seven other states, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Kerala withdrew their 'general consent'.

It may be noted that Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act provides that a member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment cannot exercise powers and jurisdiction under the Act in any area in a State without the consent of the Government of that State.

In 2020, Punjab and the Kerala Governments had withdrawn the general consent to CBI. The Government of Maharashtra had withdrawn the 'general consent' in October 2020, however, it restored the general consent last week.

In July, 2020 year, the Rajasthan Government had withdrawn its general consent accorded to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal governments had withdrawn their "general consent" in 2018 itself.