The Jharkhand government, headed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, has withdrawn the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for conducting probes in the state.

Under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, the CBI requires the permission of the state government if it wants to investigate something there. 

The general consent is the indication that the CBI can visit the state and investigate any matter.

If the general consent is withdrawn, the central agency cannot conduct its probe until the state government grants permission. 

The general consent, however, is not required if the probe is ordered by a court.

Jharkhand has become the eighth state to withdraw the general consent for the CBI probe. 

Following this, from now on the CBI has to take the permission of the state government for conducting a probe, but it's not required if the probe is recommended by a court.

The consent issue, however, will not be applicable to cases which are already being probed by the CBI. Yesterday, Kerala joined the ranks of other opposition-ruled states which have closed their doors for the central agency. 

In October 2020, the Maharashtra government declared that the CBI would be required to take its permission before probing cases in the state. Congress-ruled Rajasthan had withdrawn general consent for CBI, alleging that the BJP-led government at the Centre was misusing the agency to harass political opponents.

West Bengal, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh had also withdrawn the general consent for the CBI probe. Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had withdrawn the general consent in November 2018. 

However the above decision has been reversed by Naidu's successor CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. 

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