The Bengal government on Wednesday told the Calcutta High Court that the state had withdrawn its “general consent” to CBI in 2018 and hence the ongoing CBI probe in coal smuggling cases were “bad in law”.
The state’s submission prompted CBI to say that the Bengal government was keener on quashing criminal proceedings against the main accused than the accused himself. Anup Maji, alias Lala, moved the HC challenging the CBI cases against him. The court reserved its judgment on Wednesday.
Bengal had in 2018 withdrawn general consent to CBI given under Section 6 of Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. This means CBI must seek formal consent from the Bengal government for every case it probes unless it is asked by the HC or Supreme Court, or the charges are against a central government officer. Several states in India had taken this route to stall CBI inquiries that they alleged were “politically motivated”.
In a separate development, an Asansol court issued arrest warrants against Binoy Mishra, an accused in the cattle smuggling case. The central agency had moved court, saying Mishra had not responded to any of its summons and had reportedly fled.
