The ACB in Rajasthan can investigate and file charges against Central Government employees for corruption if committed within state jurisdiction, despite CBI’s authority.

Order :

SUDESH BANSAL, J.

Following issues of legal importance, have been raised and arisen in these petitions, hence, all the petitions were tagged, to be heard together with the consent of the respective counsels, only for the purpose of answering these legal issues:-

(I) If any offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act is committed by a person, serving under the Central Government, or an employee of the Central Government, within the territorial jurisdiction of the State of Rajasthan, whether the State agency of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is authorized and has jurisdiction to register a criminal case against such person and to proceed for investigation and filing of charge-sheet, Or whether the jurisdiction lies exclusively with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and without prior approval/ consent of the CBI, the ACB cannot proceed in the matter?

(II) If a charge-sheet of an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, is filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau against a person, serving under the Central Government or an employee of the Central Government before the Court of competent jurisdiction, but without obtaining the approval/consent of the CBI, whether such charge-sheet can be considered valid in law and within jurisdiction to commence and culminate the criminal trial of such offence in accordance with law?

2. At the outset, and before proceeding further to consider the above issues, it is worthy to note that both the legal issues, referred hereinabove, do not arise between the ACB and the CBI, because in the present petitions before this Court, these two investigating agencies are not at loggerheads, rather, these issues have arisen on raising a plea, by and on the behest of the accused/ offenders to contend, for their own beneficial interest, that against employees of the Central Government, or persons serving under the Central Government, only the CBI is competent and possesses jurisdiction to investigate the matters under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the State agency of ACB, cannot proceed for investigation so as to culminate the investigation in filing of a charge-sheet before the court, unless and until prior approval/ concurrence of the CBI is obtained. The contention of learned counsel for the accused-petitioners is that ACB can register a criminal case against a person serving under the Central Government, in red-handed trap cases or where there is likelihood of destruction of evidence, if immediate action is not taken but thereafter, ACB is under legal obligation to inform the CBI to seek consultation whether to carry out and complete the investigation or not, else the ACB should hand over the case to the CBI for further investigation. Yet, if the investigation is continued and a charge-sheet is filed by the ACB, without obtaining prior approval/ consent of the CBI, such investigation as well as the charge-sheet, is liable to be declared as unlawful and cannot be accepted as valid in law & within jurisdiction. Therefore, on the basis of such investigation and charge-sheet, a person serving under the Central Government or being an employee of Central Government, cannot be prosecuted, and continuation of the criminal trial against him would be bad in law and stands vitiated, as such cannot be sustained.

Thus, this Court shall proceed to deal with the aforesaid legal issues, keeping in mind the backdrop of facts under which these issues have emerged in the present petitions, by and on behest of the accused persons and not between the CBI viz-a-viz the ACB.

3. Heard learned counsels, appearing for the petitioners, the Special Public Prosecutors appearing for the CBI, the Government Adv