No state nod needed to probe scam: CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has maintained before the Bombay high court that it didn’t require the state’s consent to investigate the Adarsh society scam.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has maintained before the Bombay high court that it didn’t require the state’s consent to investigate the Adarsh society scam.

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IK Babu, the CBI’s investigating officer in the case, relied on a notification issued by the state governor on February 22, 1989, granting a ‘general consent’ to the CBI to probe offences arising out of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The CBI filed this affidavit in response to a petition by former chief minister and one of the accused, Ashok Chavan, challenging the registration of the FIR and its investigation.

Chavan contended the CBI had no jurisdiction to investigate the case as the state had not asked it to do so and that its actions infringed upon the authority of agencies such as the ACB.

Indirectly supporting Chavan, the state had filed an affidavit stating it had never requested the CBI to investigate the scam.

Babu said Chavan’s contention is meritless. “The state government has given its unequivocal consent as envisaged in section 6 of DSPE [Delhi Special Police Establishment] Act, 1946, and the CBI’s prosecution can’t be said to be without jurisdiction,” the CBI affidavit stated.

On January 29, 2011, the CBI registered an FIR and booked 13 persons for their purported role in the scam. The Enforcement Directorate registered a separate case against some of the accused for money-laundering. On July 4, 2012, the CBI filed a charge sheet against 13 persons, including Chavan, ex-MLC Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, among others.