CBI Investigation Must Be Ordered Only In Exceptional Cases; May Not Be Appropriate In Recruitment Disputes : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court, while setting aside a Division Bench order of the Allahabad High Court, emphasised that directing a CBI probe is an extraordinary remedy that should be invoked only in exceptional circumstances. The Court clarified the parameters that must be satisfied before central agency intervention: a prima facie case of systemic failure, involvement of influential or high-ranking officials, reasonable doubt about local police impartiality, or matters that affect fundamental rights or have national ramifications. Merely expressing distrust in state agencies or making sweeping allegations is insufficient. The judgment arose from challenges to recruitment processes for posts in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and Assembly secretariats; the High Court had registered the matter as a suo motu PIL and ordered a CBI preliminary enquiry. The Supreme Court cautioned lower courts against routine referrals to the CBI in recruitment disputes and stressed that such directions must be anchored in material disclosing commission of cognizable offences or circumstances that genuinely shake public confidence. The ruling therefore narrows the circumstances for central investigation, balancing the need for impartial probes with respect for federal investigative competence and preventing misuse of extraordinary powers in administrative-service controversies.