Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana reportedly cited a rule during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to select a new CBI director that rejected two names being considered by the government for the post.
Besides CJI Ramana and Modi, Opposition Leader in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, held deliberations at the prime minister’s residence for 90 minutes on Monday.
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Besides the CJI and PM Modi, Choudhury is part of the three-member high-powered panel formed to select the CBI chief.
CJI Ramana insisted that a police officer with less than six months of service should be not considered for the post referring to a particular Supreme Court judgement, NDTV reported citing sources.
Apparently, it is for the first time such a rule has been put forward during the selection of a new CBI director, and Ramana stressed that the rule should be complied with, The Wire reported.
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Therefore, it has eliminated Rakesh Asthana, the Border Security Force chief retiring on August 31, and National Investigation Agency chief Y.C. Modi, retiring on May 31 – the two names which have been at the top of the heap in the government’s shortlist.
The only three names now being considered by the panel are former Maharashtra director general of police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, director-general of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) K.R. Chandra, and home ministry special secretary V.S.K. Kaumudi. Jaiswal, the senior-most, is reportedly the frontrunner.