Govt given two options on setting up probe agency

A year after the Supreme Court instructed the government to set up a Central Investigating Agency empowered to take up cases...

A year after the Supreme Court instructed the government to set up a Central Investigating Agency empowered to take up cases which affect national security and curb activities aimed at destabilising the country, the ministries of Law and Home Affairs have firmed up their proposals on the matter.

The Law Ministry8217;s opinion, submitted to a Parliamentary committee recently, gives the government two options to set up the agency which, as is now proposed, should handle 8220;specified crimes8221; instead of 8220;federal crimes8221; envisaged earlier 8212; it can take up cases without the concurrence of the state Government concerned.

The first option given to the Ministry of Home Affairs is to amend the Constitution and transfer entries to the Concurrent List to enable Parliament to empower the agency to investigate and prosecute special crimes without the consent of a state government. But the Law Ministry has itself taken the view that it would be difficult to amend the Constitution as ratification of one-half of the states would be required.

The second option is to enact a new law under Article 253 of the Constitution which empowers Parliament to make laws for implementing international treaties and conventions.

The Law Ministry opinion states: 8220;Parliament could in light of provisions of Article 253 enact a legislation which could contain a list of offences created under various statute to give effect to international treaties, conventions or agreements and a separate investigating agency could be established which would have a specific body with special experts to deal with such offences.8221;

8220;The said agency for the purpose of investigation and prosecution of the specified offences would have concurrent power along with state police and would not have the effect of ousting jurisdiction of the state government to deal with such offences.8221;

The CBI listed eight statute which the Central Investigating Agency can concurrently investigate. They include the Immoral Traffic Act, Anti-Hijacking Act, Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the UN Security Council Act. Incidentally, the CBI, has said that since the crimes registered under the laws mentioned are few in number, it would not be viable to set up a new agency and the cases should be left to the CBI.