Can CBI Probe A CM? The Bigger Legal Question Behind ED’s Supreme Court Plea

The Supreme Court’s latest hearing in the Enforcement Directorate’s plea for a CBI probe into alleged obstruction of its I-PAC search raises a question far more nuanced than whether a sitting chief minister can be investigated.

A chief minister has no blanket constitutional immunity from criminal investigation. Article 361 protects the President and Governors, not CMs. There is also precedent: Lalu Prasad Yadav was chargesheeted by the CBI while he was Bihar chief minister in the fodder scam, and Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI in 2024 while serving as Delhi chief minister.

So what is the real issue before the Supreme Court?

The ED is investigating an alleged money-laundering case and says its January 8 search at I-PAC premises in Kolkata was obstructed by then West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state police officials. The alleged obstruction itself involves offences that require investigation. The ED argues that asking the same state machinery, whose senior officials are accused of involvement, to investigate the allegations would raise an obvious question of independence.

That is why the agency wants the CBI to take over, rather than suggesting that a CM is beyond the reach of criminal law.

The case has already produced strong judicial observations. On April 22, the Supreme Court questioned Banerjee’s alleged intervention during the ED operation and said such conduct could put “democracy in peril.”

The federalism dimension further complicates matters. West Bengal had withdrawn its general consent for CBI investigations in 2018, although constitutional courts can order CBI probes in exceptional circumstances.

The political landscape has now changed after the 2026 West Bengal election. Banerjee is no longer chief minister, prompting her counsel to argue that the new government could consider the matter. The ED, however, fears that a post-election transfer could itself invite allegations of political bias and wants the Supreme Court to settle the issue.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta therefore urged the court to decide whether the ED is right or wrong rather than leave the question to changing governments. The bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N V Anjaria will hear the matter again on September 2.

The real constitutional question, therefore, is not whether a CM can be investigated. It is who should investigate alleged criminal conduct when the state machinery itself stands accused of interfering with a central probe.