NEW DELHI: The NDA-ruled Meghalaya has become the ninth state to withdraw the general consent to the CBI for investigation, top agency officials told a parliamentary panel on Thursday, according to sources.
Earlier, Mizoram and seven states governed by non-NDA parties -- Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Kerala -- had withdrawn the general consent to the premier investigation agency.
The BJP is part of the ruling coalition, National Democratic Alliance (NDA), in Meghalaya led by Chief Minister and National People's Party leader Conrad Sangma.
Top agency officials told the parliamentary panel that 150 requests for investigation into various cases in these eight states are pending.
These cases include matters related to bank fraud, cheating, forgery and misappropriation of funds, the agency officials said.
CBI Director Subodh Jaiswal and other top officials of the agency deposed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, chaired by senior BJP leader Sushil Modi, on the subject of demand for grants for the financial year 2022-23.
When some members questioned about the withdrawal of the general consent to the CBI, the agency officials informed them that so far nine states have withdrawn the general consent with Meghalaya being the latest one, sources in the panel told PTI.
To further queries on the issue, the officials informed the panel that the withdrawal of general consent is impacting its functioning.
The agency officials said that it has to seek consent from these states case by case and that the process takes a long time in many cases.
The CBI's functioning is governed by the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, and therefore it must mandatorily obtain the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime in a state.
The consent of the state government can be either case-specific or general.