The Supreme Court on Friday said that a CBI probe was justified only in exceptional circumstances such as when state agencies are compromised, fundamental rights are at stake or in issues of national importance.
"An order directing an investigation to be carried out by CBI should be treated as a measure of last resort, justified only when the constitutional court is convinced that the integrity of the process has been compromised or has reasons to believe that it may get compromised to a degree that shakes the conscience of courts or public faith in the justice delivery system," the bench said.
The top court said this while setting aside the Allahabad HC's ruling, which directed a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the recruitment process for the Uttar Pradesh legislative council and assembly secretariats.
A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi said, for invoking this power, the concerned court must be satisfied that the material placed prima facie discloses commission of offences and necessitates a CBI investigation to ensure the fundamental right to a fair and impartial investigation, or where the complexity, scale, or national ramification of such allegations demands expertise of central agency.
Surprisingly, the verdict came from the same bench led by Justice Maheshwari that ordered a CBI probe into the Karur stampede three days ago, noting that the incident had shaken the national conscience, involved violation of fundamental rights, and a fair and impartial probe was required.
The bench highlighted in its verdict that such compelling circumstances may typically arise when the materials brought in notice of the court prima facie point towards systemic failure, the involvement of high-ranking state officials or politically influential persons, or when the local police's conduct itself creates a reasonable doubt in the minds of the citizenry regarding their ability to conduct a neutral probe.
"In the absence of such compelling factors, the principle of judicial restraint demands that the court must refrain from interfering. In other words, constitutional courts must exercise some degree of judicial restraint in unnecessarily burdening a specialized central agency with matters that do not satisfy the threshold of an exceptional case," the bench said.
The court allowed an appeal filed by the UP Legislative Council against the Allahabad High Court's division bench order for a CBI probe into alleged manipulation and favoritism in the selection and appointment process for various posts under the Secretariat of Legislative Council, Uttar Pradesh, by advertisements issued on September 17 and 27, 2020.
