Kerala withdraws general consent to CBI for probe in state

The Kerala government has issued an order withdrawing general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate cases without prior permission.The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting held on Wednesday. The state government was unhappy with CBI intervention in Life Mission Housing project an initiative of the Kerala government to provide shelter and housing to the homeless.The project was stalled temporarily following the probe after which the government approached the high court. The high court stayed the CBI probe.

With this, Kerala has joined the list of non-BJP-ruled states West Bengal, Rajasthan and Maharashtra in withdrawing general consent to CBI. The governments of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh recently withdrew the general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The consent is akin to a blanket nod for the agency to probe scheduled offences specified in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DPSE) Act, 1946. The CBI also lacks a "general consent" from Mizoram. Unlike the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has countrywide jurisdiction to take over any case related to terrorism, the CBI requires the consent of the state government concerned under Section 6 of the DPSE Act, the law that governs the agency's functioning.