Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI): - The top investigative organization in India is the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions are in charge of overseeing its operations. The Central Vigilance Commission and Lokpal are helped by it.

The Department of Personnel, Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Public Grievances, Government of India, which is a division of the Prime Minister's office, is in charge of overseeing its operations.

However, the Central Vigilance Commission is in charge of overseeing investigations into offenses under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

 

History of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

The Special Police Establishment (SPE), a Central Government Police unit, which was established by the Government of India in 1941 to look into cases of bribery and corruption in dealings with the War and Supply Department of India, is where the Bureau of Investigation had its start.

Its main office was in Lahore. Qurban Ali Khan, the SPE Superintendent, later chose Pakistan after the Partition of India.

Rai Sahib Karam Chand Jain served as the War Department's first legal counsel.

A central government agency was still required after the war to look into cases of bribery and corruption among government officials. When the division was given to the Home Department by the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946, Sahib Karam Chand Jain remained its legal adviser.

The Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption afterward that the CBI be established. The Home Affairs Ministry then passed a resolution creating the CBI. Later, the CBI came under the control of the Ministry of Personnel, and today it serves as an affiliated office.

 

Functions of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

The primary investigative arm of the GOI is the CBI. It is not a statutory entity, rather, the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, is where its authority comes from.

Its essential function is to keep administrative integrity intact and to fight corruption. When it comes to situations involving the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, it operates under the direction of the CVC (Central Vigilance Commission).

Look into instances of economic and fiscal law violations, such as those involving customs and central excise, export, and import regulation, income tax, foreign currency rules, and so forth However, the CBI investigates matters of this sort either at the department's request or after consulting that department.

Investigate severe crimes committed by organized gangs or professional criminals that have repercussions on a national and worldwide level.

To plan out how the various state police units and anti-corruption organizations will work together.

Any case of public importance may be taken up and investigated by the CBI at the request of a state government.

Keeping track of crime data and distributing criminal knowledge.

For communications with INTERPOL, India is represented by the CBI.

 

Cases the CBI handles include the following categories:

Anti-Corruption Crimes–for the investigation of cases involving public officials and workers of the central government, public sector undertakings, corporations, or bodies that are owned or controlled by the government of India under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Economic Crimes- for the investigation of important financial frauds and serious economic crimes, such as crimes involving fake Indian currency notes, bank frauds, cybercrime, import/export violations, large-scale drug, antiquities, cultural property, and other contraband item smuggling, and so forth.

Special Crimes- on the requests of State Governments or on the directives of the Supreme Court and High Courts, for the investigation of major and organised crime under the Indian Penal Code and other laws, such as cases of terrorism, bomb blasts, kidnapping for ransom, and crimes committed by the mafia/underworld.

Cases by Suo Moto - Only in the Union Territories may the CBI investigate crimes on its own.

The assent of the State Government in question is required before the Central Government can give the CBI permission to probe a crime in a State. However, without the permission of the State, the Supreme Court and High Courts can direct CBI to look into a crime anywhere in the nation.

 

Appointment of Directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

The management of the organization is the responsibility of the Director, CBI, who also serves as the Inspector General of Police for the Delhi Special Police Establishment. However, the DSPE Act of 1946 served as the foundation for the CBI Director's appointment up to 2014.

On the recommendation of the Supreme Court in the Vineet Narain case, the DSPE Act was changed in 2003. The Central Government would receive recommendations for the nomination of the CBI Director from a committee that included members from the Central Vigilance Commission and secretaries from the Home Ministry, Ministry of Personnel, and Ministry of Public Grievances.

The Lokpal Act of 2014 established a committee for the appointment of the CBI Director which was  led by the prime minister and other members which included the Chief Justice of India and a judge on the Supreme Court, as well as the leader of the major opposition party.

A list of qualified individuals is sent by Home Ministry to DoPT. The DoPT then compiles the final list and submits it to the committee based on seniority, integrity, and experience conducting anti-corruption investigations.

The CVC Act of 2003 guarantees the director of CBI a tenure of two years.

The President issued two laws in November 2021, allowing the Center to increase the directors of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate's terms from two years to a maximum of five years.

 

Amendments to DSPE Act:

As long as it is in the public interest, the Director's original appointment tenure may be extended for up to a year at a time upon the suggestion of the Committee (which includes the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice as members).

With the additional caveat that no such extension would be granted once a total of five years, including the initial appointment period, have passed.

 

The infrastructure of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

All the CBI's branches are housed in the agency's headquarters, an 11-story, 186 crores ($23 million) structure in New Delhi. The structure contains a 500-seat employee cafeteria, gyms, a terrace garden, and 470 parking spaces in a bi-level basement. A press briefing room and media lounge are available, along with cutting-edge fire control and power-backup equipment.

In 1996, the CBI Academy opened in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh (to the east of Delhi). It is around 65 km (40 mi) from Indira Gandhi International Airport and about 40 km (25 mi) from the New Delhi railway station.

All CBI ranks can receive the training they require at the Academy. The officials of the state police, central police organizations (CPOs), public-sector vigilance organizations, banks, government departments, and the Indian Armed Forces are also provided with facilities for specialized courses.