New Delhi: The Central government on Thursday submitted before the Supreme Court that it has no control over the CBI while urging the court to dismiss the West Bengal government’s plea claiming the central investigative agency was registering FIRs and launching investigations without the state’s consent. The West Bengal government withdrew the ‘general consent’ accorded to the CBI to conduct probe and raids in the state on November 16, 2018.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, contended before a bench of justices BR Gavai and Aravind Kumar that the state’s plea is not maintainable as a suit cannot be filed against the CBI under Article 131. Mehta argued that there is no cause of action against the Union of India because CBI is an independent body and has a separate legal identity and emphasised that the “government has no control over it”.
Mehta submitted that the CBI cannot be made a party to the present suit under Article 131 as the same can be only between one or more state governments and Union government or one or more state governments on one side and the Government of India and any other State(s) on the other or two or more states. Mehta made it clear that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) does not have any functional control over the CBI and it only deals with transfer, appointment or repatriation of officials of the probe agency.
Mehta said being autonomous regarding its functions in investigating FIRs and investigating cases, the CBI is the party against which the state is seeking relief. Citing prayers made in the suit, Mehta contended that the first prayer seeks a declaration that registration of cases by the respondent after withdrawal of consent is unconstitutional. Mehta said the Union of India has not registered any case in the state of West Bengal, nor has it been investigating any case. Mehta said 12 cases, which have been referred to in the suit, were registered by the CBI on the direction of the Calcutta High Court and one was registered under the direction of the apex court.
“These facts are completely absent from the suit. There’s an attempt to mislead this court as facts have been suppressed,” he said. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, vehemently argued that there cannot be any investigation by the CBI once the general consent has been withdrawn while objecting to Mehta’s preliminary objection that the suit is not maintainable. Sibal said even after the consent was withdrawn several FIRs were registered and the state had to move to the apex court and cited cases where FIRs were registered after the withdrawal of the consent.
The West Bengal government filed an original suit in the apex court against the Centre under Article 131 of the Constitution, alleging that the CBI has been filing FIRs and proceeding with investigations despite the state having withdrawn the general consent to it to probe cases within its territorial jurisdiction. The hearing in the matter will continue on November 23.
