The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been established as “Delhi Special Police Establishment” under the provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. Section 4 of this Act lays down as under:
“4. Superintendence and administration of Special Police Establishment.—(1) The superintendence of the Delhi Special Police Establishment insofar as it relates to investigation of offences alleged to have been committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (49 of 1988), shall vest in the Commission.
(2) Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (1), the superintendence of the said police establishment in all other matters shall vest in the Central Government.
(3) The administration of the said police establishment shall vest in an officer appointed in this behalf by the Central Government (hereinafter referred to as the Director) who shall exercise in respect of that police establishment such of the powers exercisable by an Inspector-General of Police in respect of the police force in a State as the Central Government may specify in this behalf.”
In the above Section, “Commission” means the “Central Vigilance Commission” (CVC).
Thus, from the above, it should be clear that for the purposes of offences under Prevention of Corruption Act, investigated by the CBI, it is under the superintendence / control of the CVC. However, it should be made clear that the Proviso to Clause (b) to Section 8 of the Central Vigilance Act, 2003, lays down that while exercising the powers of superintendence or giving directions, the CVC shall not exercise powers in such a manner so as to require the CBI to investigate or dispose of any case in a particular manner. Thus, the control of CVC over CBI is of a general nature and not directing investigation in a specific case.
For all other purposes, including administrative matters and also investigation of other offences, the CBI is under the superintendence / control of the Central Government. However, if one reads the provisions of the CBI Manual, the CBI is not supposed to take orders from the Government with regard to the manner in which a particular investigation is conducted by it.
What is mentioned above is the legal position. In practice, the Central Government may be indirectly influencing investigations conducted by the CBI by use (or abuse) of its administrative powers.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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