CJI, Kharge seek career graph of eligible officers
The meeting of the high-powered selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appoint a new CBI Director remained inconclusive, officials said on Thursday.
“A list of eligible officers, along with their dossiers, was shared with the panel members. But no decision was taken. Another meeting would be called soon to finalise a name for the (CBI chief) post,” an official said.
The dossiers of the officials included only sketchy details like the date of appointment and date of superannuation. The names of 70-80 officers eligible for the post was presented to the panel comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
Kharge and the CJI are learnt to have sought specific details of the career graph of the eligible officers, a reason why the meeting remained inconclusive, sources said.
The meeting, was held at the Prime Minister’s residence and was attended by Gogoi and Kharge.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Kharge said, “There was discussion on the names. There was no mention of their career details, including relevant experience. We (referring to CJI Gogoi) have asked them to provide all the necessary details. The next meeting may be convened by next week.”
The post of CBI head has been lying vacant since January 10 after the high-powered selection committee transferred the agency chief Alok Verma as DG of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards.
Verma’s removal was necessitated after a bitter feud with his then deputy Rakesh Asthana. Both Verma and Asthana had traded charges of corruption against each other.
In a midnight operation on October 23, the Government had sent both Verma and Asthana on forced leave pending enquiries against them by the Central Vigilance Commission.
However, Verma challenged the transfer through a petition before the Supreme Court. The apex court on January 8 reinstated him as CBI chief with riders that the issue of his transfer would decided by the PM-led panel.
While Verma refused to join as DG Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards and resigned, Asthana was subsequently transferred as DG of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.
Presently, the CBI is headed by Additional Director M Nageswara Rao as an interim chief. The post of the CBI Chief enjoys a fixed tenure of two years.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the list of officials in the race for the CBI Director’s post are Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat Directors General of Police OP Singh and Shivanand Jha respectively, CISF chief Rajesh Ranjan, and BSF Director General Rajnikarnt Mishra besides Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home Ministry Rina Mitra, sources said. While Singh and Jha do not have any experience in the CBI, Ranjan, Mishra and Mitra have served in the CBI.