CBI gets its regular director after three months
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
A three-member selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Chief Justice of India N V Ramana and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had cleared the name of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) chief Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, a 1985-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Maharashtra cadre, as the new Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI) director for two years. During the meeting, Chowdhury had objected to the process of selection of officers for the coveted post.
Other two officers shortlisted were Special Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs V.S.K. Kaumudi and another IPS officer of Bihar cadre K.R. Chandra.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has, based on the panel recommended by the committee constituted as per Section 4A(1) of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, approved the appointment of Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, IPS (Mh-1985) as Director, Central Bureau of Investigation for a period of two years from the date of assumption of charge of the office,” a government notification said.
India’s premier investigating agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was working without a regular chief for over three months after Rishi Kumar Shukla completed his two-year tenure on February 3, this year and CBI Additional Director Praveen Sinha, a 1988-batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, was appointed the acting chief of the agency after Shukla completed his tenure.
The appointment assumes significance as the Supreme Court is hearing a petition filed by an NGO, Common Cause, on the delay in the appointment of a regular CBI chief.
The petitioner has alleged that the government has failed to appoint a regular CBI director as per Section 4A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act.
The plea has also sought a direction to the Centre to initiate and complete the process of selection of the CBI director well in advance, at least one to two months before the date on which the vacancy to the post is about to occur.
Jaiswal is a 1985-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Maharashtra cadre and also served in the CBI earlier. He has also served as Maharashtra’s director general of police in the past.
May 26,2021
