Can CBI investigate a sitting Chief Minister? ED asks Supreme Court for clarity
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Can CBI investigate a sitting Chief Minister? ED asks Supreme Court for clarity")
'Either we are right or wrong': ED asks SC to settle CBI powers over sitting CMs Photograph: (Wikimedia Commons)
Can a sitting Chief Minister be investigated by the CBI if accused of a crime? The Enforcement Directorate has asked the Supreme Court to settle the question, turning a probe linked to the I-PAC search in Kolkata into a much larger legal battle.
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday (Aug 18) asked the Supreme Court to settle a larger legal question: can the CBI investigate a sitting chief minister if the chief minister is accused of committing an offence? The issue came up before a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N V Anjaria while hearing the ED's plea over alleged obstruction of its search at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC in Kolkata.
The ED has accused former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and other state authorities of interfering with its January 8 search operation. The agency wants the investigation into the alleged obstruction, along with what it described as retaliatory FIRs, transferred to the CBI.
ED says court must decide larger issue
Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for Banerjee, told the court that the change in government meant the state could now consider the ED's request for sanction and transfer of the investigation to local police, suggesting that little remained to be decided.
Justice Mishra observed that, following the change in regime, the matter could potentially be disposed of by allowing the ED's request to transfer the probe to the CBI.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, however, urged the court to decide the larger question rather than allow the issue to be resolved after the change in government. "We don't want to face any allegations that the state government, because of political reasons, has done it. Either we are right or wrong, I want the court to decide," Mehta said.
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Additional Solicitor General SV Raju argued that the court should determine whether the CBI can investigate a sitting chief minister who is also the state's home minister if that person is accused of an offence. "The issue is whether a sitting chief minister, who happens to be the Home Minister, if she commits a crime, is it an appropriate case for the CBI to investigate or not?" Raju said.
The Supreme Court has listed the matter for hearing on September 2.
ED alleges interference in I-PAC search
The dispute stems from the ED's investigation into an alleged coal pilferage scam. The agency has alleged that its officers faced interference during searches at the I-PAC office and the premises of its director, Pratik Jain.
The ED has claimed that Banerjee arrived at the location with a large police contingent and intervened in the search, including in relation to evidence collected by its officers.
The agency has sought an independent CBI investigation into the alleged obstruction involving Banerjee and senior state police officials.
The Supreme Court had earlier stayed FIRs filed in West Bengal against ED officials and directed the state police to preserve CCTV footage from the searches. It also issued notices to Banerjee, the West Bengal government, former DGP Rajeev Kumar, and senior police officers in connection with the ED's plea.
The court had previously observed that democracy could be put in peril if a chief minister intervened in an investigation.
