Context: 

The government in Tamil Nadu announced that it has withdrawn the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act.

About General Consent:

• The CBI is governed by The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946.
• It must mandatorily obtain the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime in a state.
• Section 6 of The DSPE Act: The CBI needs consent from the respective State governments for conducting investigation in their jurisdiction. 
• The consent of the state government to CBI can be either case-specific or general.
• This is consent by default, in the absence of which the CBI would have to apply to the state government in every case, and before taking even small actions.
• A general consent to CBI granted by State governments enables the central agency to carry out investigations without such hindrances.
• Other States that withdrew general consent: Mizoram, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Jharkhand, Punjab and Meghalaya.

Implications of withdrawal: 

• The CBI will not be able to register any fresh case involving officials of the central government or a private person in the state without the consent of the state government.
• CBI officers will lose all powers of a police officer as soon as they enter the state unless the state government has allowed them.
• CBI retained the power to investigate cases that had been registered before consent was withdrawn.

Delhi High Court order in 2018:

• It ruled that the agency could probe anyone in a state that has withdrawn general consent, if the case was not registered in that state.
• The CBI could file a case in Delhi and continue to investigate people inside those states.

News Source: The Hindu