Instead of its considered recommendations , using ‘pleas’ denotes the type of response given to the country’s premier investigating Agency- the Central Bureau of Investigation by most of the states in India in respect of probing of cases related to various offences ranging from corruption to bank frauds, forgery to misappropriation and the like. Unfortunately, this Agency with proud track record of investigating cases of economic crimes, special crimes and governmental corruption has been very often targeted as being used by the Governments of the day as a tool to settle political scores with political opponents and also showered with several invectives but never to deter it from its professional assignment of investigating matters. There are eight states, comprising West Bengal , Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand , Kerala and Mizoram where more than 78 percent, on the average , cases for probing are pending which were sent to these states by the said Agency between 2018 to 2020 to allow the CBI by granting consent to investigate and pursue further in accordance with the legal procedures. The question is as to why should such a negative and uncooperative response be shown by these states in not probing the cases which were during the said period sent to them? The matter assumes greater sensitivity as most of the cases are reported to be pertaining to raising assets disproportionate to known sources of income, corruption and Bank frauds and cheating involving sizeable amount of money. Certain pertinent and very substantive questions arise looking to such an unexpected response from the democratically elected Governments of these states otherwise expected to go the whole hog against incidents of corruption and economic offences of various hues. Are these states indirectly in conflict with the claim and the professional recommendations of the CBI to probe the cases which prima facie are revealing criminal conspiracy along with or in isolation in respect of open indulgence in various economic offences and therefore deserving probing and filing of criminal cases against the concerned accused? Why should, by keeping the cases like this in frozen boxes, these states are virtually openly showing that they, perhaps, were more with the suspected accused than with the Investigating Agency and in the process who stood benefitted, the state and the law or the accused? Is anyone held accountable in the administrative system in the concerned (defaulting ) states for there being no progress in probing of cases the list of which is submitted by the CBI hence no prosecution and other penal action against the accused ? What about those instances where lower courts and appellate courts keep on granting stay orders resulting in inordinate delay in and affecting the mechanism of reasonably fast trial in the cases and how was the response of the states in getting such stay orders vacated? Not hotly pursuing and contesting stay orders and letting the dust of delays and deferments ”settle” on the concerned cases, it could be safely assumed that the CBI was deliberately made to eat a humble pie and that is absolutely unwarranted , uncalled for and unacceptable. Such a scenario prevailing especially in eight states of the country has been viewed seriously by the Supreme Court which has felt ”concerned” about two aspects of the entire issue , viz; the pendency of requests made by the CBI to the (defaulting ) eight states and the other being about granting of stay orders in numerous cases probed by the Premier Investigating Agency. Terming the entire situation as” certainly not desirable” by the Apex Court is in itself a castigation of the response, reaction, approach and stand of the concerned states towards the fervent requests sent by the CBI for granting consent to it to investigate and proceed further in the specific cases related to each state. The moot question is under such double approach and double speak, how can the scourge of corruption and public loot be effectively contained if not stopped altogether ? Is it not primarily because lot of political leaders are suspected to be involved hence such a taciturnity and the unwanted ”dodge
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