Subodh Kumar Jaiswal appointed CBI Director for two years

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 Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, a 1985 batch IPS officer serving as CISF DG, was appointed CBI director on Tuesday. Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana had invoked a 15-year-old Supreme Court’s verdict, which says a person having less than six months of service left should not be considered for the appointment as Police chiefs, to stall the candidature of two of the IPS officers – BSF DG Rakesh Asthana and NIA chief YC Modi – reckoned to be the government’s favourites for the post of CBI Director, sources said.

The CBI Director’s appointment is guided by Section 4(A) of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 – as amended by the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, which does not talk of any such pre-condition.

This was for the first time that this ruling was being applied to appointment of Director of the CBI, sources said, adding that, disqualified Asthana, who retires on July 31 and YC Modi, who retires on May 31.

The shortlist of three officers was approved by the high-powered selection committee — comprising PM Narendra Modi, CJI N V Ramana and leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury — after the CJI cited an eligibility rule regarding minimum six-month remainder term, based on a 2019 Supreme Court ruling that, ironically, pertained only to state DGP appointments. The criteria eliminated several hopefuls, including BSF DG Rakesh Asthana and NIA DG Y C Modi.

The post is lying vacant since the expiry of the term of the last incumbent Director Rishi Kumar Shukla on February 2, this year, and the government appointed Praveen Sinha as an interim/acting chief till the appointment of new CBI Director, or until further orders.

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