High Courts should not order probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) solely on the basis of letters received by it from various private parties, the Supreme Court held Yesterday (Sept 26). Bench held that such an exercise of entrusting an investigation to the CBI can be done only in very rare cases when the court is satisfied that the State police cannot do justice to the case.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that High Courts should not direct investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) solely on the basis of letters received from private parties.
A Bench consisting of Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan emphasized that such a decision to entrust the CBI with a probe can only be taken in rare circumstances, where it is clearly established that the State police are incapable of conducting a fair and impartial investigation.
The Court highlighted that while High Courts have the authority under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to order a CBI probe, this power must be exercised with caution. The Supreme Court stated,
“No doubt that the High Court, while exercising its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, is empowered to entrust the investigation to the CBI. However, for doing so, it has to come to a reasoning as to why it finds that the investigation by the State Police is not fair or is partisan. Merely on the basis of some letters, such an exercise is not warranted.”
As a result, the apex court set aside the Calcutta High Court’s April 19 order, which had confirmed the CBI investigation into allegations related to school appointments by the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by the West Bengal government against the High Court’s decision.
The case dates back to April 9 when a single-judge of the Calcutta High Court ordered a CBI probe based on allegations received via letters from residents of the Darjeeling hills. These letters accused officials of the GTA, including former GTA chairperson Binay Tamang, of making unlawful appointments under political influence.
The High Court’s order was related to the alleged illegal appointment of between 700 to 1,000 employees, including teachers, during Tamang’s tenure as GTA administrator from 2017 to 2019.
The single-judge’s direction for a CBI investigation was upheld by a Division Bench of Justices Harish Tandon and Madhuresh Prasad on April 19, leading to the West Bengal government’s appeal before the Supreme Court.
While agreeing that High Courts have the power to order CBI investigations under Article 226, the Supreme Court underlined the need for substantial justification before taking such a step. The Court reiterated,
“This Court has consistently held that such an exercise of entrusting an investigation to the CBI by the High Court has to be done in very rare cases.”
The Supreme Court further noted that in the present case, there was no concrete reasoning provided by the single-judge to support the view that the State Police’s investigation was biased or incomplete. It remarked,
“In the present case, there is not even a whisper as to why the single-judge found the investigation by the State Police to be unfair or partial so as to find it necessary to direct an enquiry to be conducted by the CBI.”
Consequently, the Supreme Court quashed both the orders passed by the single-judge and the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court. It remanded the case back to the single-judge for reconsideration, ensuring that the matter would be decided afresh based on proper reasoning.
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