In a counterattack to Uttar Pradesh government, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday the general consent granted to Central Bureau of Investigation for every case. The move will restrict the agency from probing cases in the state without Maharashtra government’s nod.
Before investigating any case, the CBI will now have to approach the state government to permit them to conduct their probe.
The orders comes a day after UP government handed over the TRP scam to CBI which was being probed by the Mumbai Police as well. The Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena government has been loggerheads with BJP-led government for quite some time now.
Mumbai police, on October 8, claimed that it had busted a “racket” which manipulating Television Rating Points(TRP). It had accused Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV and two Marathi channels of manipulation. Till the case was handed over to CBI on Tuesday, Mumbai police had already arrested 8 people in connection with the fraud.
The fake TRP scam was brought into light by a Lucknow resident who runs an advertising company and a case was registered at Hazratganj Police station in the same backdrop.
The CBI is governed by the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, which makes it necessary for a state to give consent to an CBI led probe. After Maharashtra blocked the general consent through its Wednesday order, the CBI will have to approach state authorities to investigate the TRP scam case.
After Wednesday’s order, Maharashtra has become fourth state in the country to block general consent. Previously, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have exercised the power to withdraw “general consent” to CBI cases.