Can the state police arrest central agency personnel? SC says issue is double-edged | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: In a significant response to the increasing number of arrests of officers of central investigation agencies by the state police, the Supreme Court on Friday called for a balance between competing objectives of protecting the Centre’s officials from vindictive actions that would trigger a constitutional crisis can cause, without keeping the state in check. prevents police from investigating allegations of corruption.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan discussed the conflictual question while hearing a case related to the arrest of a ED officer Through Tamil Nadu Police for alleged corruption.
The suspect has no say in the investigation, but is entitled to a fair verdict: SC
Hearing a case related to the arrest of an ED officer by the Tamil Nadu Police for alleged corruption, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Surya Kant said the question was whether the central government officer if he were arrested by the state police. If the central government had given permission to take action against that officer, it would have been a very different scenario, the report said.
Additional Advocate General for Tamil Nadu Amit Anand Tiwari told the bench, also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, that the ED officer was caught red-handed in accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh and that the investigation into the case under Prevention of Corruption Act was almost completed. “The state police was ready to file a chargesheet but waited as ED SC was approaching,” Tiwari said.
When the accused’s counsel tried to intervene, Tiwari objected, saying the accused could have no say in the matter of investigation or which agency should investigate a crime. The court said: “The suspect cannot have a say in the investigation, but he is entitled to a fair investigation.”
Referring to the conflicting issues involved in the case, the bench said: “In a federal structureeach part must be able to retain its exclusive domains of jurisdiction. Take a hypothetical scenario: if a state police force, in revenge, arrests central government officials, it will trigger a constitutional crisis. So to say that the state has exclusive power to arrest would be dangerous to the federal structure. But it would be undesirable to deny the state police the authority to investigate a crime within its jurisdiction. We will deliberate and consider the arguments from both sides to find a balance between these two competing aspects of police power.”
The bench further said, “This is a classic case of State versus Union and we will consider the broader federal structure scheme and determine the mechanism for inquiry into such cases.” It extended the interim bail granted to the arrested ED officer until further orders.