The Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, is an Act of the Indian Parliament that serves as the statutory foundation for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Its origin lies in the Special Police Establishment (SPE), a central police force created in 1941 during World War II to investigate bribery and corruption in war-related procurements. The Act formalized the SPE in 1946 to investigate corruption and other offences involving Central Government employees. The CBI was formally established in 1963 following the recommendation of the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962–1964), and it derives its investigative powers from the DSPE Act.
The Act’s mechanism is centered on the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE), which the Central Government can constitute under Section 2 to investigate specific offences notified under Section 3. The superintendence of the DSPE vests in the Central Government, except for cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, where it vests in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). A critical provision is Section 6, which mandates that the CBI must obtain the consent of a State Government to conduct investigations within its territory, reflecting the constitutional principle that 'Police' is a State subject. However, the Supreme Court and High Courts can direct a CBI probe without state consent, as affirmed in State of West Bengal vs CPDR (2010).
The Act was recently amended by the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Act, 2021 (Act No. 45 of 2021), which came into force on November 14, 2021. This amendment modified Section 4B to allow the Central Government to extend the Director's minimum two-year tenure by up to one year at a time, with a maximum total tenure of five years.