CBI probe must be treated as last resort: SC sets aside order for probe into 2020 UP Legislative council recruitment

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said the CBI investigation should not be directed as a matter of routine or merely because a party casts certain aspersions or harbors a subjective lack of confidence in the State police. 

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi said, for invoking this power, the concerned court must be satisfied that the material placed prima facie discloses commission of offences and necessitates a CBI investigation to ensure the fundamental right to a fair and impartial investigation, or where the complexity, scale, or national ramification of such allegations demands expertise of central agency.

"An order directing an investigation to be carried out by CBI should be treated as a measure of last resort, justified only when the constitutional court is convinced that the integrity of the process has been compromised or has reasons to believe that it may get compromised to a degree that shakes the conscience of courts or public faith in the justice delivery system,'' the bench said.

The bench stressed that such compelling circumstances may typically arise when the materials brought in notice of the court prima facie point towards systemic failure, the involvement of high-ranking state officials or politically influential persons, or when the local police's conduct itself creates a reasonable doubt in the minds of the citizenry regarding their ability to conduct a neutral probe. 

"In absence of such compelling factors the principle of judicial restraint demands that the court must refrain from interfering. In other words, constitutional courts must exercise some degree of judicial restraint in unnecessarily burdening a specialized central agency with matters that do not satisfy the threshold of an exceptional case,'' the bench said.

In its judgment, the court allowed an appeal filed by UP Legislative Council against the Allahabad High Court's division bench order which directed for CBI probe into alleged manipulation and favoritism in selection and appointment process for various posts under the Secretariat of Legislative Council, Uttar Pradesh by advertisements issued on September 17 and 27, 2020.

"It is a matter of concern and required to be referred that the division bench while entertaining the special appeal against an order of Single Judge, how can direct the office to register the case separately as suo moto PIL. If such direction is carried out, it would amount to entertaining a public interest litigation against the order of Single Judge which primarily cannot be said to be in consonance with the rules prevalent and demand of propriety,'' the bench said.   

The court noted the division bench was swayed on mere doubt on the process adopted for identification of external agencies to conduct the examination.

The bench emphasised writ petitions did not contain any prayer for CBI investigation. 

The single judge disposed of the matter, noting that recruitment should be in the hands of a specialized agency, rather a private agency. It was directed that in future, all the posts had to be filled by Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission, it said.