Bihar Updates CBI Probe Rules to Align With New Criminal Laws

Bihar has updated the legal framework for Central Bureau of Investigation probes, bringing the agency’s operating rules into line with India’s new criminal laws while retaining the state’s requirement for prior consent in cases involving its officials.

The state home department issued the notification on September 3. Bihar police headquarters said the expanded scope applies only to central government employees working in the state or employees of other central government bodies.

The notification also reaffirmed that the CBI must obtain the prior consent of the Bihar government when a case involves public servants working for the state, employees of corporations, companies or banks owned and controlled by Bihar, or people connected to institutions that receive or have received state financial assistance.

The CBI operates under the Delhi Police Special Establishment Act, 1946. States generally provide consent for the agency to investigate and prosecute central and state government employees posted within their boundaries. Bihar’s notification, issued under Section 6 of the 1946 law, modifies that consent requirement for cases involving state-linked personnel and institutions.

“The objective of the new notification is not to make any new amendments in the existing statutory system but to update the system and make it more effective with the current laws and legal procedures,” Bihar police headquarters said. Bihar’s advocate general, SD Sanjay, said the measure incorporated the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam alongside provisions of the former criminal and evidence laws.

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The objective of the new notification is not to make any new amendments in the existing statutory system but to update the system and make it more effective with the current laws and legal procedures.