TRP ‘scam’: Withdrawal of general consent to CBI within ambit of law, say legal experts

The withdrawal of ‘general consent’ to the CBI by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government is well within the framework of law, according to both senior advocate Ujwal Nikam, who has served as special public prosecutor in several high-profile cases, and former Bombay High Court Judge B G Kolse-Patil.

On Wednesday, the state government had withdrawn the ‘general consent’ given to the CBI in 1989 to probe cases in Maharashtra. The government’s step came in the wake of CBI taking over the TRP case in Uttar Pradesh, and was ostensibly prompted by fears that a similar step might be taken in Maharashtra in connection with the case on ‘TRP scam’ registered by Mumbai Police.