How to file a Complaint to the CBI?

Cases dealt with by the CBI

The CBI deals with the following cases:

1. Cases involving public officials under the supervision of the Central Government, either alone or in conjunction with State Government employees and/or others.

2. Cases involving the Central Government's interests, or the interests of any public sector initiative or undertaking, or any statutory company or organization established and sponsored by the Government of India.

3. Cases involving violations of central laws about which the Indian government is particularly concerned, such as i. Import and Export Control Order Violations, ii. Violations of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, which are serious, and iii. Fraudulent passports.

4. Cases involving the Central Government's affairs that fall under the Official Secrets Act.

5. The Central Government is particularly concerned about cases of specifically designated categories under the Defence of India Act or Rules.

6. Serious examples of cheating or fraud involving the railways or the Posts and Telegraphs Department, especially those involving professional criminals operating across multiple states.

7. High Seas.

8. Airlines.

9. Important and serious instances, particularly those involving professional criminals, have occurred in Union Territories.

10. Public Joint Stock Companies have been the subject of serious cases of fraud, deceit, and embezzlement.

11. Other serious incidents involving organized gangs or professional criminals, or crimes involving multiple States, including Union Territories, serious cases of bogus drugs, significant cases of child kidnapping by professional inter-State gangs, and so on. Only at the request of or with the consent of the State Governments/Union Territories Administrations will these cases be taken up.

12. Corruption in the public sector, as well as projects and activities in the public sector, is being gathered.

13. Cases investigated by this Division are prosecuted.

14. Presentation of cases to Enquiry Offices in which departmental proceedings are initiated based on this Division's suggestion.
     

Filing a Complaint to CBI Online

The CBI has established an online portal, which can be used not only to lodge complaints but also to report cybercrimes. The identity of the complainant is kept confidential as soon as they report a particular incident. Additionally, the CBI portal also enables a person to report economic crimes, bank frauds, and security frauds. It also gives the option of directly reporting a crime to the Interpol of India. The portal also includes phone numbers for reporting crimes including unlawful human trafficking, as well as the contact information for various CBI officers to whom a person can report conmen posing as CBI officers and even report fake CBI emails. An important thing to note is that the investigating agency does not take up cases of regular crimes such as robbery, theft, or murder unless the Supreme Court of India or the state governments request it.
 

Jurisdiction of the CBI

Since the CBI's jurisdiction has expanded beyond dealing solely with cases of bribery and corruption, it has begun to receive a flood of complaints involving social and economic issues. Furthermore, the government is no longer the only one who can use a notification to seek CBI jurisdiction. The ability to claim investigative jurisdiction was also extended to the general public, implying that the Central Board of Investigation now receives complaints from a variety of sources. Every complaint must be entered in the complaint sub-module of the CRIMES module or the interim Complaint Register maintained in the branch offices, according to the provisions governing the CBI's operations. It makes no difference where these complaints come from. They could come from the branch manager, the government, or the general public. The complaints submitted to the CBI office are given a temporary number that is used to refer to the case. If the complaints are not directed to the branch whose jurisdiction the matter falls under, they will be centralized and forwarded to the appropriate branches. The complaint is assigned a normal complaint number by the concerned authorities once it has been forwarded to the appropriate branch with authority. The complaints that have been recorded so far cannot be validated at any point prior to the relevant authorities issuing a regular complaint number. All complaints received are addressed with the utmost confidentiality.
 

Complaints that are not investigated by the CBI

1. Anonymous and pseudonymous complaints are accepted. Such complaints do not need to be forwarded to the CBI's involved Ministry/Department/Public Sector Undertaking. They should be filed after the complaint has been entered into the complaint register. If there is any doubt regarding the authenticity of a signed or pseudonymous complaint, a limited investigation may be conducted to determine whether the signature is real and whether the signatory admits to sending the complaint and stands by it. If the signature is deemed to be authentic after such a check, further action should be done on the basis of a real/signed complaint. Otherwise, there is no need to take any more action. However, if a complaint is received against a CBI agent's conduct, verification will be required, even if the complaint is signed under a pseudonym.

2. Allegations that are vague and unprovable in nature.

3. When the claims are about service issues, the departmental authorities can investigate them more thoroughly.

4. Petty complaints that do not entail specific charges of bribery or corruption and can be handled more effectively by the department's Vigilance Wing or local police

5. Complaints that do not normally fall under CBI's jurisdiction.

6. Complaints that have previously been investigated or are being investigated by the department or its Vigilance Wing, as well as the allegations themselves, do not appear to warrant an open inquiry by the CBI.

7. Complaints about events or situations that occurred in the distant past.

8. Complaints involving only state government employees or private citizens, which are irrelevant to the CBI.

Verifications of complaints falling into these categories are to be taken up only under certain special circumstances or if the government passes a notification or a competent court passes an order to that effect.
 

Why do you need a lawyer?

A strong strategy is the foundation of every successful defense, whether civil or criminal. It is critical to devise an effective strategy for countering the prosecution's case, which can only be accomplished with the assistance of a criminal lawyer . A case in the hands of the CBI can be exceedingly intricate, and the accused will need a lawyer who is well-versed in both civil and criminal law to adequately defend their case. As a result, an accused person must contact a lawyer as soon as the CBI begins an inquiry.

Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty

4.0 | 2+ user ratings Greater Kailash - 1, Delhi
5 years

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