In a Surprising Move, BJP-Ruled Madhya Pradesh Imposes CBI Approval Requirement

Bhopal: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will now need to obtain written permission from the Madhya Pradesh government before conducting any investigations in the state. This requirement, outlined in a notification issued by the Home Department on Tuesday, July 16, will take effect from July 1, 2024.

Home Department officials clarified that this procedure was already in place but needed formal notification following the implementation of the Indian Justice Code. The officials stressed that issuing this notification was necessary to prevent potential contamination of cases under consideration in the courts.

The Madhya Pradesh government’s order mandates that the CBI must obtain written approval from the state administration for investigations involving any individual, government official, or institution within the state.

With this directive, BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh joins a list of states requiring CBI approval before investigations, a list that predominantly includes states governed by opposition parties. These states include West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Kerala, and Telangana.

According to Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, the CBI must secure consent from the state government to operate within its jurisdiction.

In a related development, the Maharashtra government in October 2022 reversed an earlier order requiring CBI approval. Shiv Sena chief and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, part of the Mahayuti alliance with the BJP and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, overturned the decision made by the previous MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

The recent notification in Madhya Pradesh is seen as a move to reinforce the state’s control over CBI operations within its boundaries, aligning it with other states that have imposed similar restrictions.

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