Central Bureau of Investigation is the full form of CBI. The Government of India realized early in World War II that the massive increase in expenditure for war efforts had provided opportunities for unscrupulous and anti-social individuals, both officials and non-officials, to engage in bribery and corruption at the expense of the public and the government. The police and other law enforcement agencies under state governments were thought to be incapable of dealing with the crisis.
C = Central
B = Bureau of
I = Investigation
In 1941, the Government of India issued an executive order establishing the Special Police Establishment (SPE) under the supervision of a DIG in the then Department of War, with the mission of investigating cases of bribery and corruption in transactions involving the Government of India’s War and Supply Department. The SPE’s efforts were expanded to encompass cases of corruption on railways around the end of 1942, possibly because railways were crucial to the movement and delivery of war goods.
The Government of India enacted an Ordinance in 1943, establishing a Special Police Force and vested with authority to investigate certain offences committed in connection with Central Government departments conducted wherever in British India. The 1943 Order, which came into force on September 30, 1946, was replaced by the Special Police Ordinance on the Establishment of the Police in 1946, as central government agencies were still needed to investigate allegations of corruption and bribery. after the war. Later, in the same year, the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, was enacted.
The Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946 gives the CBI the authority to investigate. The DSPE is only authorized to investigate crimes in the Union Territories, according to Section 2 of the Act. However, under Section 5(1) of the Act, the Central Government can expand its jurisdiction to other areas, such as railway areas and states, if the State Government consents under Section 6 of the Act. For the purpose of inquiry, CBI executive officers of the level of Sub Inspector and higher execute full powers of a station office in-charge of the police station for the concerned region.
Following the Act’s adoption, SPE’s supervision was shifted to the Home Department, and its responsibilities were expanded to include all departments of the Indian government. SPE’s jurisdiction was expanded to include all Union territories, and the Act allowed it to be extended to states with the permission of the state government. SPE’s headquarters were relocated to Delhi, and the organization was placed under the direction of the Director of the Intelligence Bureau. In 1948, however, a position of Inspector General of Police was formed, and the organization was put under his command.
A growing need for a Central Police Agency at the disposal of the Central Government was felt, one that could investigate not only cases of bribery and corruption, but also violations of Central fiscal laws, major frauds involving Government of India departments, public joint stock companies, passport frauds, high-seas crimes, airline crimes, and serious crimes committed by organized gangs. As a result, the Government of India established the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on April 1, 1963, with the following divisions:
- Administration Division
- Investigation &Anti Corruption Division
- Crime Records and Statistics Division
- Technical Division
- Research Division
- Legal and General Division