General consent to probe withdrawn to prevent political misuse of CBI: Anil Deshmukh

MUMBAI: The general consent extended to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe cases in Maharashtra was withdrawn to prevent the misuse of the agency for political benefits, State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday.

"The CBI holds investigation in a very professional manner, but the pressure built on the organisation to seek political benefits is not right, therefore, we took this decision to withdraw the general consent," Deshmukh said in a press conference here.

He said the central agency will now have to take permission from the Maharashtra government to investigate any case in the state.

"It was rumoured that CBI was being used for political benefits. TRP (Television Rating Point) case is being investigated by the Mumbai Police. A similar case has been registered in Uttar Pradesh. There could have been an attempt to give all the cases related to the TRP scam to the CBI," Deshmukh said.

"A professional organisation like the CBI should not be misused for political benefits. To ensure that, we have brought in this order under the Delhi Police Special Establishment Act," he added.

Section 6 of the Delhi Police Special Establishment Act, 1946, from which the CBI derives its legal powers of investigation, provides that a member of the establishment cannot exercise powers and jurisdiction under the Act in any state without the consent of the state government.

So far, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have revoked their general consent extended to the CBI to investigate any case in the states.  

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