It is to be noted that the CBI has lodged multiple FIRs in cases of post-poll violence in West Bengal, which had vehemently objected to it.Mehta also raised a preliminary objection on the lawsuit filed by the West Bengal government and said that the state’s original suit was not maintainable. “The CBI is not under the Centre. CBI is an independent body and not the one coming under the Central government. Therefore, the Central government cannot be sued in the matter,” Mehta told the top court.He further accused the West Bengal government of trying to litigate the same issue in two different cases before the apex court.The Bench was hearing arguments in an original suit filed by the West Bengal government against the Central government over the alleged misuse of the CBI in matters concerning the State.Opposing the arguments of Mehta, senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, for West Bengal government, told the top court that the CBI could not probe cases concerning West Bengal without the State government’s general consent.Raising questions on how the CBI can probe cases within its territory without the State government’s prior sanctions, Sibal said, “We are dealing with a statute (Delhi Special Police Establishment Act) that impacts the federal structure of this country. General Consent is necessary before you get entry in the State,” Sibal said.He also pointed out that once you gave a foothold to the CBI in a State, soon after the ED also entered for investigating the predicate offence. “It has huge ramifications on the polity of this country. All of this has enormous implications for the Indian polity,” the senior lawyer said.
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