Post is lying vacant for more than 3 months

The three-member high-level selection committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Opposition leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and Chief Justice of India NV Ramana will at last sit together on May 24 to decide the next CBI Director. The post is vacant for more than three months.

The shortlisted names are from the 1984 to 1986 batch IPS officers, including BSF DG Rakesh Asthana and NIA Chief YC Modi. According to highly-placed officials, more than 13 names have been shortlisted and their resumes are already sent to the selection committee members for perusal.

Senior police officers like ITBP chief SS Deshwal, CISF chief Subodh Jiaswal, Kerala DGP Loknath Behera, Gujarat ACB chief Keshav Kumar and Uttar Pradesh DGP HC Awasthy are also short-listed for the post.

According to sources, the Government may bring the name of some non-controversial officers as surprise as it did the last time by making RK Shukla CBI Director in January 2019 after the removal of Alok Verma. Some officials said the Government may also consider officers from 1986 batch as all officers from 1984 batch are retiring from service in May, June and July. CBI Director is selected for two years.

The Modi Government is already facing a case filed by noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan in Supreme Court for not appointing CBI Director on time.

The apex court has directed Government to convene selection committee meeting on May 2. CBI Director RK Shukla retired on February 2 and now Additional Director Praveen Sinha is posted as in-charge.

In 2016 also the Government faced criticism from Supreme Court for not selecting CBI Director on time. When Anil Sinha retired on December 2016, Asthana was appointed as temporary in charge. After three months, the Government appointed Alok Verma as fulltime Director. Later CBI faced an unprecedented tug of war between Verma and Asthana and the Government removed both from the organisation in October 2018.