Central Bureau of Investigation

2020 OCT 27

Mains   > Governance   >   Aspects of Good Governance   >   Security forces and Police

IN NEWS:

  • The Maharashtra government withdrew the general consent extended to the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe cases in the state.
  • The Kerala government is planning to withdraw the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

ORIGIN:

  • The CBI traces its origin to the Special Police Establishment (SPE) which was set up in 1941 by the Government of India. Its functions then were to investigate cases of bribery and corruption in transactions with the War & Supply Deptt. Of India during World War II.
  • Even after the end of the War, the need for an agency to investigate cases of bribery and corruption by Central Government employees was felt. The Delhi Special Police Establishment Act was therefore brought into force in 1946.

CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION:

  • The CBI is the main investigating agency of the Central Government.
  • Its establishment was recommended by the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962-1964).
  • It is set up in 1963 by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Later, it was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and now it enjoys the status of an attached office.
  • The superintendence of CBI related to investigation of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 lies with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and in other matters with the Department of Personnel & Training (DOPT)
  • It is headquartered at New Delhi, housing all branches of the agency.

COMPOSITION:

  • The CBI is headed by a Director, an IPS officer with a rank of Director General of Police. He is provided security of two-year tenure in office by the CVC Act, 2003.
  • Appointment of Director: The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act (2013) amended the DSPE Act (1946) and changed the manner of appointment of director:
    • The Central Government shall appoint the Director of CBI on the recommendation of a three-member committee.
    • This committee shall consist of the Prime Minister as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India or Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by him.
    • When there is no recognized leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, then the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha would be a member of that committee.
  • Additionally, it has a number of joint directors, deputy inspector generals, superintendents of police and all other usual ranks of police personnel.
    • The Central Government shall appoint officers of the rank of SP and above on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Central Vigilance Commissioner as Chairperson, the Vigilance Commissioners, the Secretary of the Home Ministry and the Secretary of the Department of Personnel.

FUNCTIONS:

The CBI is a multidisciplinary investigation agency and undertakes investigation of corruption-related cases, economic offences and cases of conventional crime. Its major functions are:

  1. Investigating cases of corruption, bribery and misconduct of Central government employees.
  2. Investigating cases relating to infringement of fiscal and economic laws. However, such cases are taken up either in consultation with or at the request of the department concerned.
  3. Investigating serious crimes, having national and international ramifications, committed by organised gangs of professional criminals.
  4. Coordinating the activities of the anti-corruption agencies and the various state police forces.
  5. Take up cases of public importance on reference from the state governments or when directed by the Supreme Court/High Courts.
  6. Provide assistance to the Central Vigilance Commission and Lokpal.
  7. Act as the “National Central Bureau” of Interpol in India.
  8. Maintaining crime statistics and disseminating criminal information.

STRUCTURE:

It has three major divisions for investigation of crime:

  1. Anti-Corruption Division: for investigation of cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Public officials, government employees and members of corporations or Bodies owned by the Government of India.
  2. Economic Offences Division: for investigation of major financial scams and serious economic frauds, including crimes relating to Fake Indian Currency Notes, Bank Frauds and Cyber Crime.
  3. Special Crimes Division: for investigation of serious, sensational and organized crime under the Indian Penal Code and other laws on the requests of State Governments or on the orders of the Supreme Court and High Courts.

PROVISION OF PRIOR PERMISSION:

  • As ‘Police’ is a State subject, in order to conduct such investigations within a state, the CBI is required to take prior consent from the State Government.
  • This consent can be in the form of:
    1. General consent: Given to help the CBI seamlessly conduct its investigation into cases of corruption against central government employees in a state.
    2. Specific consent: CBI would have to request for consent for individual cases.
  • However, CBI can suo-moto take up investigation of offences in the Union Territories.

What happens when a state withdraws general consent?

            Once a state withdraws general consent, the CBI has to seek permission before it can register a case against a person or an entity based in that state. They cannot file any new FIRs in any new cases. However, there will be no bar on investigation into cases that are already being probed.

CRITICAL ISSUES PLAGUING CBI:

  • Political interferences: The CBI has been a political instrument for the ruling governments. The Supreme Court had criticized this by calling the CBI a "caged parrot speaking in its master's voice".
  • Lack of autonomy: The agency depends on central government for its funds and functionaries. Funds are provided through the union budget and the agency is dependent on the home ministry for staffing since many of its investigators are from the IPS. This makes it susceptible to the whims of the ruling government.
  • Resource crunch: The agency is dealing with several sensitive, high-profile corruption and banking scam cases, both within India and courts abroad. This needs large-scale deployment of workforce and resources, which is lacking with the agency.
  • Flawed investigation: cases, particularly the high-profile ones are mishandled or delayed. It has also been criticized for dragging its feet investigating prominent politicians resulting in their acquittal or non-prosecution.
  • Non-filling of vacancies: Despite increasing number of cases being referred to the CBI, the agency depends on the law ministry for lawyers and also lacks functional autonomy to some extent.
  • Corruption within the system: Allegation were raised against CBI chiefs for collecting bribe from a businessman who was being investigated by the agency.
  • Limited Powers: The CBI is not a statutory body. It requires prior approval of Central Government to conduct investigation on its employees. Also, the powers and jurisdiction of CBI are subject to the consent of the State governments, thus limiting the extent of investigation by CBI.
  • Exemption from RTI: The CBI is exempted from the RTI Act. However, the agency has been using this exemption to deny information related to corruption cases. This has hampered its accountability.
  • Dent in credibility: All these factors have made the agency lose its credibility in the public eye.

WAY FORWARD:

  • Delink CBI from government: If the CBI has to function as an impartial and effective organization, delinking it from the control of the government is vital. One way to attain this is to enact a law, which must define the status, functions and powers of the CBI, lay down safeguards to ensure autonomy and impartiality of the organization and not allow anyone to enjoy impunity.
  • Time bound investigations: Guidelines must be framed for time-bound completion of investigations by the CBI and to ensure that cases involving "high and mighty" are not mishandled or delayed.
  • Simplify recruitment process: To overcome the perennial problem of vacancies in the CBI, the government should simplify recruitment rules and eliminate the procedural bottlenecks.
  • Quality recruitments: The government may consider making terms of deputation to the CBI more rewarding in order to retain capable officers and to attract best officers from other forces, such as State police forces and Intelligence Bureau.
  • Manpower support: Training its manpower to investigate technology-driven crimes, and maintaining the morale of the force by enforcing stringent internal accountability is essential to ensure that the agency is up to credibly meet the rising challenges.
  • Infrastructural support: Investments in research and personal, training, equipment or other support structures, concerning all aspects of the working of the institution.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Enumerate the institutional measures taken in India to address corruption. Suggest measures for improving India’s anti-corruption efforts, with special reference to the Central Bureau of Investigation?